On 14 July 2024, the board of France’s professional football league organisation, the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), agreed to enter exclusive negotiations with DAZN and beIN Sports over Ligue 1 television rights. One of the most powerful men in football, Qatar’s Nasser Al-Khelaifi was among those present, according to the Senate’s subsequent examination of the deal.
Al-Khelaifi was then president of Paris Saint-Germain, a member of the Ligue 1 board and chairman of beIN Media Group, owner of beIN Sports.
So, to clarify, he presided over the country’s biggest club that would receive money from the sale, he helped oversee the league itself, and he was chairman of a prospective buyer.
Investigators are now examining whether he used those overlapping positions to favour beIN, according to L’Équipe.
On 20 September, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed to AFP that a preliminary investigation had opened in April following a complaint by the anti-corruption association Anticor. Al-Khelaifi’s lawyer responded that his client had always acted independently, impartially and objectively.
So what happened exactly?
By July 2024, French clubs were running out of time to secure the television income they needed for the coming season. Amazon was not renewing its €250 million-a-season agreement, and Vincent Labrune, president of the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), had spoken of broadcasting revenues exceeding €1 billion. The offers available fell well short of that ambition. Days before the meeting, some clubs were expressing fears of bankruptcy.
