KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTS:  Swiss prosecutors are now studying whether to appeal against the verdicts of the Federal Criminal Court in the World Cup television rights case entangling Nasser Al-Khelaïfi and Jerome Valcke.

Al-Khelaïfi is head of the powerful Qatari beIN Media broadcasting group while Valcke is the French secretary-general sacked by world football federation FIFA at the start of 2016.

The trial, in Bellinzona, concerned events surrrounding the sale of TV rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups in the  Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. A central feature concerned the leasing to Valcke by a company controlled by Al-Khelaifi of a luxury villa in Sardinia.

Al-Khelaïfi, who is a member of UEFA’s exective committee on behalf of the European Clubs Association, was declared not guilty of unfair management while Valcke was also acquitted but handed a suspended 120-day jail sentence on another rights sale issue.

A full written judgment has been submitted to the public prosecutor of the Swiss Confederation who has three weeks in which to decide whether to appeal.

##########