Paris: The Qatari boss of top French soccer team PSG Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been questioned in France in connection with a corruption probe over the awarding to Doha of the World Athletics championships, a judicial source said Saturday. The source said Al-Khelaifi was questioned on Wednesday by investigating magistrates who termed him a “person of interest” as they examine a case which also looks at the circumstances in which the Olympic Games were awarded to Rio de Janeiro for 2016 and Tokyo for 2020.
Al-Khelaifi’s lawyer Francis Szpiner did not respond to an AFP request for comment. At the time, Qatar was seeking to host the 2017 IAAF world championships and the two payments were made shortly before it voted. The event was awarded to London but, in 2014, Doha was awarded the 2019 IAAF games which start on September 28.
