Last week, an extract from Complément d’enquête (France 2) about Nasser Al-Khelaïfi revealed tensions between several Ligue 1 presidents and that of Paris Saint-Germain, as well as beIN Media Group. Notably around a possible conflict of interest when the discussion focuses on TV rights and the need to choose the best possible option last summer. LOSC owner Maarten Petermann reacted to this negative image in L’Equipe.
“Nasser delegated the negotiation.”
Amazon ended up offering €65 million for the match…
But we had to reach €100 million and Amazon only suggested it verbally. The role played by Nasser at that time is a little confused today in the media. But it was the clubs who pushed beIN to make an offer after realizing on July 5 that DAZN didn’t have the budget for this final match.
Nasser delegated the negotiation to Yousef (Al-Obaidly, CEO of beIN Sports France and DG of beIN Media Group). He came to London and we (the clubs present and Labrune) had very lively discussions to be able to present a firm proposal to the clubs on July 14 (…).
When you have all the information, you can understand Nasser’s irritation. Being attacked just because people don’t know what you’ve done to try and help, that can raise emotions.
“Nasser only joined the famous visio reluctantly”.
Doesn’t the position of NAK, president of both PSG and beIN Sports, annoy you?
No, I saw with my own eyes Nasser in London standing aside, waiting in another room during the negotiations with beIN. I took part in the negotiations with Yousef and we had some very heated exchanges. After all, his channel is not a charity…
And on this subject, Nasser only reluctantly joined the famous visio when the frustrations grew, given the pressure and the short time we had to find a solution.”
This is yet another reminder of the need for caution and hindsight until you have all the elements of a story. One side of a story is not enough to understand it all, let alone judge it. Some presidents want to push the image of a tyrannical Nasser Al-Khelaïfi playing on a conflict of interests, whereas we see here above all the desire to have a breakthrough without being involved in “multiple hats”.
The whole interview, to be found in the sports paper, shows above all that the discussions were particularly tense and difficult. Ligue 1 was looking for money, while the broadcasters were shy at best. And as is often the case, it was very difficult to satisfy everyone. So there was a battle to find a viable solution, and Al-Khelaïfi acted on the side of the club presidents, not beIN SPORTS.
Now, we’re hoping that things will calm down and that we’ll find some stability in Ligue 1. The little media “wars” and the stress surrounding broadcasting have been going on for far too long. And all this at a time when Ligue 1 has so much to offer. All that remains is to work constructively and in the right direction. For example, quality pitches in all stadiums would be a good starting point.
