Gianni Infantino Welcomes An Investigation Into Champions League TV Rights

 

FIFA President Gianni Infantino says he welcomes an investigation into the Champions League television rights contract he co-signed during his time at UEFA. Swiss police raided the UEFA headquarters in Nyon on Wednesday and seized evidence of the contract, which came to light after millions of files were leaked from the database of the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca.

The 2006 contract for TV rights was co-signed by Infantino, during his time at UEFA, and a pair of businessmen who were indicted last year by American federal prosecutors investigating suspected corruption in world football. Hugo Jinkis and Mariano Jinkis, his son, brought the TV rights on behalf of an Argentine company named Cross Trading and then sold them on for almost three times the price to Ecuadorian broadcaster Teleamazonas.

Infantino, who was elected the new FIFA president in February of this year, with a mandate to reform the discredited governing body, says UEFA behaved properly with regard to the TV rights contract. He says “If my determination to restore football's reputation was already very strong, it is now even stronger. I welcome any investigation conducted into this matter.  For the sake of transparency and clarity, it is essential that all elements of this dossier are disclosed, as UEFA has done.  Based on these documents, it is clear that all contractual matters were conducted properly by UEFA. Should I be required to contribute to bringing further clarification on the matter, I will of course gladly do so. It is in my interest and in the interest of football that everything should come to light”

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said the swoop on UEFA HQ, which was one of two to take place on Wednesday, was part of criminal proceedings directed against persons unknown.  A statement from the Swiss OAG said: “On April 6, 2016, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG), within the scope of ongoing criminal proceedings, conducted a search on a cooperative basis for the collection of evidence at the headquarters of the UEFA and at another enterprise. The search was motivated by the suspicion of criminal mismanagement and misappropriation. The OAG's criminal proceedings are in connection with the acquisition of television rights and are at present directed against persons unknown, meaning that for the time being, no specific individual is being targeted by these proceedings”.