Nasser Al-Khelaifi: PSG president cleared of corruption charges | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been cleared of corruption charges for a second time by a Swiss court.

Al-Khelaifi was acquitted of inciting former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valckev to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement in October 2020, but was taken back to court after Swiss prosecutors lodged an appeal.

It was alleged at a hearing in March that Valcke had accepted rent-free accommodation in an Italian villa bought by 48-year-old Al-Khelaifi in exchange for TV rights - the PSG president is also the chairman of the BeIN media group.

But Al-Khelaifi, who testified that the accusation was "totally wrong", was cleared of any wrongdoing for a second time by the appeals court, with a written judgement passed on Friday.

"Today's verdict is a total vindication. After a relentless six-year campaign by the prosecution - which ignored both the basic facts and the law at every turn - our client has, once again for a second time, been fully and completely cleared," Marc Bonnant, Al-Khelaifi's Swiss counsel said.

"The years of baseless allegations, fictitious charges and constant smears have been proven to be completely and wholly unsubstantiated - twice."

Valcke was cleared of the same charge but was found guilty in a separate case of accepting bribes and forging documents.

He was given an 11-month prison sentence and fined 20,000 Swiss francs (£17,000), both of which are suspended, and is already serving a 10-year ban from football - imposed in 2015 when FIFA adjudged that he had breached the body's ethics code on a number of occasions.