Champions League final highlights Al-Khelaïfi ties to PSG, UEFA, beIN and Qatar
As president of Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain since 2011, Al-Khelaïfi's main goal is seeing his team become champion of Europe for the first time against Inter Milan in Munich.
As chairman of the influential European Club Association, he leads 700 member teams increasingly taking over from UEFA in shaping sporting and commercial decisions for the Champions League. It also puts him on UEFA's strategy-setting executive committee.
As chairman of Qatari broadcaster beIN Media Group, Al-Khelaïfi controls exclusive Champions League rights to air the final in the Middle East, North Africa and much of South-East Asia.
'Nasser Al-Khelaïfi is considered a visionary leader in the media industry,' beIN says on its website, adding that in 2016 he 'also acquired the Hollywood film studio Miramax.'
He also is a minister in Qatar's government, a director of its sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and chairman of Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) that owns PSG.
QSI and Al-Khelaïfi — a former tennis professional — also are key in the fast-emerging racket sport padel which has ambitions to be an Olympic sport, maybe in time for the 2036 Summer Games that Qatar and its tennis-loving Emir want to host.
Among the invited VIP guests in Munich is Thomas Bach, the outgoing though still influential president of the International Olympic Committee.
Saturday can be a peak of Al-Khelaïfi's 14-year career in international soccer that has fueled talk — despite ongoing investigations of his sports career by French authorities — he could be a future FIFA president.
Al-Khelaïfi declined comment to The Associated Press after a recent UEFA meeting in Bilbao, Spain.
In a statement, PSG said he 'doesn't want to be a distraction and wants humble focus for the team.'
From tennis to soccer
Now aged 51, Al-Khelaïfi was a tennis pro who played for Qatar in the Davis Cup, bringing him into contact with the future Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Al-Khelaïfi's ATP biography shows his ranking peaked at No. 995 and he played two matches on tour. The first in 1996 was against world No. 2 Thomas Muster in Austria. Brief footage shows a good-natured exchange of shots with Muster in a 6-0, 6-1 mismatch.
Al-Khelaïfi's career ended in 2003 and he joined the start-up Al Jazeera Sport as 'Director of Rights Acquisitions,' according to beIN.
Qatar stunned soccer in 2010, when FIFA awarded it 2022 World Cup hosting rights, and PSG was bought within months.
Rising in soccer
The rise of ambitious clubs fueled by Middle East sovereign cash — Qatar and PSG, Abu Dhabi and Manchester City — concerned the storied elite. The ECA helped UEFA introduce financial control rules for European competitions that saw both clubs deducted 20 million euros ($22.7 million) of Champions League prize money in 2014.
Still, while Man City did not get on the ECA board, Al-Khelaïfi was elected in 2016. Three years later he got one of two seats reserved for clubs on the UEFA executive committee (ExCo) — despite in-house cautioning about conflicts of interest.
Conflicted interests?
On election day in 2019 in Rome, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin was asked about potential conflicts of interest around Al-Khelaïfi. BeIN was, and still is, among UEFA's main clients also owning extensive European Championship rights.
Ceferin's narrowly focused answer was that ExCo members are not involved in approving commercial deals.
Any conflict worked in UEFA's favor in 2021 when ECA leaders launched the Super League project designed to rival and replace the Champions League, which beIN broadcasts.
PSG's refusal to join rebel clubs from Spain, Italy and England helped to undermine the breakaway that ultimately failed amid a fan backlash and British government threats of legislation.
In the fallout, Al-Khelaïfi took over leading the ECA and quickly repaired relations with UEFA and Ceferin.
One year later, UEFA opened a disciplinary case into claims the PSG president confronted the match referee after losing in the Champions League at Real Madrid.
When UEFA published the verdict Al-Khelaïfi was no longer cited and blame was put on sporting director Leonardo, who PSG had fired weeks earlier.
Challenges in France
Al-Khelaïfi is not always popular in France where PSG has won 11 of 14 league titles during Qatari ownership. His powerful role has attracted criticism, particularly from John Textor, the American owner at Lyon, including that PSG's funding model involving Qatari money allegedly breaks European Union laws.
The pair have argued about poor management of the league's TV rights. In leaked footage from a 2024 meeting of Ligue 1 club owners, Al-Khelaïfi called Textor a cowboy. Textor described his rival as a bully with a conflict of interest given his role at beIN.
Al-Khelaïfi's legal challenges in France include some not related to PSG. The recent preliminary charges about possible alleged corruption relate to his links to a French businessman.
Proceedings were dropped in relation to Qatari bids to host track and field's world championships, which Doha staged in 2019.
In Switzerland, Al-Khelaïfi stood trial twice and was acquitted both times on charges of inciting a top FIFA official to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement from 2013-15.
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His lawyers said after the second acquittal in 2022 that 'years of baseless allegations, fictitious charges and constant smears have been proven to be completely and wholly unsubstantiated — twice.'
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AP Sports Writer Tales Azzoni contributed from Bilbao, Spain
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
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Toronto Sun
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- Toronto Sun
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Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The International Ski and Snowboard Federation said star ski jumpers Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang, two coaches and a member of the service staff were formally charged as part of an investigation into 'equipment manipulation' at the Nordic worlds Norway hosted in March. Illegally modified suits can help athletes fly further with more aerodynamic resistance. The allegations — backed by video footage and quick confessions by team officials — shook the tight-knit communities of ski jumping and Norwegian sports when they emerged on the final weekend in Trondheim. No timetable was given for hearings or verdicts in a case that intensifies less than six months before the next Winter Olympics open in northern Italy. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Bans, fines and disqualification of results are on the slate of punishments open to the FIS Ethics Committee, the governing body said in a statement. Lindvik's gold medal in the men's normal hill event at the worlds held in Trondheim, plus Norway's bronze in the men's team event on the large hill are clearly at risk. FIS said the investigation conducted 38 witness interviews and examined 88 pieces of evidence, and that no one else will be charged in the case. 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The manipulation was to increase the size of suits pre-approved and microchipped by FIS, and was captured on secretly filmed footage. It led to formal protests from the Austria, Slovenia and Poland teams. The alterations could be confirmed only by tearing apart the seams of the crotch area on the Norwegian ski suits. The case will be judged by three members of the ethics panel which must reach verdicts 'no later than 30 days after the hearing process is concluded,' FIS said. FIS has already tightened up its rules on ski jump suits, something which caused a spate of disqualifications when athletes gathered for the first competition of the new season Saturday. FIS said that was down to technical issues and it didn't suspect 'ill intent.' Check out our sports section for the latest news and analysis. Columnists Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Ontario
National Post
6 hours ago
- National Post
Norwegians charged over 'manipulation' in ski jumping's suit-cheating saga
Two Olympic gold medalist ski jumpers and three staffers on the powerful Norway men's team were charged with ethics violations Monday after an investigation into alleged tampering with ski suits at the world championships. Article content The International Ski and Snowboard Federation said star ski jumpers Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang, two coaches and a member of the service staff were formally charged as part of an investigation into 'equipment manipulation' at the Nordic worlds Norway hosted in March. Article content Article content Illegally modified suits can help athletes fly further with more aerodynamic resistance. Article content The allegations — backed by video footage and quick confessions by team officials — shook the tight-knit communities of ski jumping and Norwegian sports when they emerged on the final weekend in Trondheim. Article content No timetable was given for hearings or verdicts in a case that intensifies less than six months before the next Winter Olympics open in northern Italy. Article content Bans, fines and disqualification of results are on the slate of punishments open to the FIS Ethics Committee, the governing body said in a statement. Article content Lindvik's gold medal in the men's normal hill event at the worlds held in Trondheim, plus Norway's bronze in the men's team event on the large hill are clearly at risk. Article content FIS said the investigation conducted 38 witness interviews and examined 88 pieces of evidence, and that no one else will be charged in the case. Article content Lindvik and Forfang, who both were in the team that took bronze, denied involvement in March though were disqualified from the individual large hill event and suspended by FIS for the rest of the season. Their charges were signed off by the FIS ruling council, the governing body said. Article content Article content The 27-year-old Lindvik has been expected to defend his Olympic title next year in the men's large hill event at the Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Games. Forfang, now 30, took team gold on the large hill and individual silver on the normal hill at the 2018 Olympics held in South Korea. Article content Admissions of guilt were made in March by head coach Magnus Brevik and equipment manager Adrian Livelten, who said suits were altered only before the men's large hill event. Article content 'We regret it like dogs, and I'm terribly sorry that this happened,' Brevik said at the time. A third team staffer, Thomas Lobben, also is now charged. Article content The manipulation was to increase the size of suits pre-approved and microchipped by FIS, and was captured on secretly filmed footage. It led to formal protests from the Austria, Slovenia and Poland teams. Article content The alterations could be confirmed only by tearing apart the seams of the crotch area on the Norwegian ski suits. Article content The case will be judged by three members of the ethics panel which must reach verdicts 'no later than 30 days after the hearing process is concluded,' FIS said. Article content
