GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s supreme court upheld the acquittal of Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaïfi in the final appeals stage of a case that alleged wrongdoing linked to former FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke and the awarding of World Cup television rights.
In a separate case, Valcke's conviction of bribery and forgery in relation to World Cup media rights in Italy and Greece was also upheld.
For Al-Khelaïfi, it is his third acquittal in five years on charges related to allegedly allowing Valcke to use a villa in Italy for free from 2013-15. The ruling was described by his lawyers as “a complete vindication.”
“From the outset, this has manifestly been a ‘trophy-hunting’ prosecution by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland — but today, that pursuit is over,” lawyer Marc Bonnant said in a statement.
Prosecutors had tried to link the home in Sardinia, bought by a Qatari company in 2013, to Al-Khelaïfi-led broadcaster beIN Media Group getting a renewed World Cup rights deal from FIFA in a $480 million deal.
But three Swiss federal courts — at criminal, appeals and supreme level — have now ruled there was no wrongdoing in that deal. In the Al-Khelaïfi case, Valcke was also acquitted for a third time on charges of criminal mismanagement harming FIFA, for which prosecutors had sought a prison term of 35 months.
“The Swiss Federal Supreme Court once again confirms that Jérôme Valcke did not cause any damage to FIFA and that his behavior had no negative influence on the very profitable price of the disputed contracts,” his legal firm in Geneva, RVMH, said in a statement.
But Valcke — who was removed from his FIFA post in 2015 and later banned from soccer over wide-ranging misconduct — was convicted again on separate charges not involving Al-Khelaïfi. Those related to forgery and kickbacks in negotiations for World Cup broadcast rights in Italy and Greece.
A third defendant, Greek marketing executive Dinos Deris, had his conviction for active corruption upheld.
The supreme court also upheld the suspended sentences for Valcke and Deris of 11 and 10 months, respectively.
The court combined the appeals brought by the federal prosecution office, and by Valcke and Deris, in one set of rulings. They asked a lower court to look again at financial penalties in the case.
The investigation was opened in 2017, first heard at the federal criminal court in 2020, then retrials at the federal appeals court were held in 2022.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Jerome Valcke, former FIFA Secretary General, arrives at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to challenge his ten-year suspension imposed by FIFA in Lausanne, Switzerland, Wednesday, Oct 11, 2017. (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP, File)
FILE - PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi smiles before the League One soccer match Paris Saint-Germain against Angers at the Parc des Princes stadium, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
FOIX, France (AP) — Danish rider Mads Pedersen surged away in a sprint finish to win the fourth stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday, and Norwegian rider Torstein Traeen took the yellow jersey from defending Tour champion Tadej Pogacar.
Pedersen attacked with 300 meters (yards) left and was well clear when he crossed the line ahead of American rider Quinn Simmons, his Lidl-Trek teammate, and Spaniard Raul Garcia.
“This was for sure a masterpiece in teamwork," Pedersen said, praising his teammates for putting him in position to contest the win. “They worked like machines. What a team effort and what a team win today.”
It was a third career stage win on the Tour for Pedersen, a powerful rider who is a former world road race champion.
Traeen finished in eighth place and was far ahead of four-time Tour champion Pogacar, who did not contest the stage victory.
Pogacar was in the main pack along with two-time champion Jonas Vingegaard, his main rival. They both rolled in 12 minutes, 59 seconds behind Traeen after nearly 4 1/2 hours in the saddle.
Traeen, who rides for Uno-X Mobility, is just under eight minutes ahead of them in the overall standings.
“To be honest, I can’t believe it. I can feel it’s real but it’s quite hard for me to understand how big this is,” the 30-year-old Traeen said. “The Tour is the biggest race in the world and I will enjoy the jersey for as long as possible. I hope I can keep it for quite some time now.”
That might prove difficult, however.
Traeen is not a contender for overall victory and could lose the yellow jersey as early as Thursday, when the race hits the high Pyrenees mountains on Stage 6.
Pogacar took the yellow jersey from Vingegaard after winning Monday's third stage. It featured the first major mountain climb of the three-week race, which ends on July 26 in Paris.
Stage 4 featured four moderate climbs on a 182-kilometer (113-mile) trek from Carcassonne to Foix in the Occitania region of southwestern France. With sweltering temperatures hitting 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit), Tour organizers allowed for extra feeding zones during the stage, giving riders more frequent access to water bottles.
“We just have to live with the heat, and do what you can to cool down,” Pedersen said. “When we are talking about team effort, we are not talking of riders only. There are many people of our team on the roadside, waiting to give bottles and ice sockets to help us deal with the heat.”
With 50 kilometers left, a trio was in front: Mathias Vacek, Jan Tratnik and Alex Kirsch — but they were soon caught as a new group of 10 riders formed.
Frenchman Kévin Vauquelin was the first to make his move, but Pedersen zoomed around him on the outside with blistering speed.
Stage 5 on Wednesday is a mostly flat route suiting sprinters.
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Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey crosses the finish line of the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race with start in Carcassonne and finish in Foix, France, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Norway's Torstein Traeen wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey celebrates on the podium after the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race with start in Carcassonne and finish in Foix, France, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Denmark's Mads Pedersen celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race with start in Carcassonne and finish in Foix, France, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Denmark's Mads Pedersen celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race with start in Carcassonne and finish in Foix, France, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Denmark's Mads Pedersen celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race with start in Carcassonne and finish in Foix, France, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
