October 20, 2022
The brief from today:
Political interference in sale of PSG
French investigative publication, Mediapart, released a new report that uncovered some alarming details regarding the sale of PSG in 2011. Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), the entertainment and sports investing arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, came forward to purchase Paris Saint Germain (PSG) 11 years ago. At the time, the expected amount needed to finalize the deal was €30 million, but ultimately the final sale price turned out to be €64 million. Now, as a result of the Mediapart investigation, some clarity has been provided as to how the figures more than doubled. The French media outlet was looking into the subject of corruption involving the voting that resulted in Qatar’s winning bid for the 2022 World Cup, and while they scoured legal documents connected to this matter they discovered details about PSG’s sale. When QSI expressed their interest in taking over PSG, the current owners of the club were Canal+ and investment firm Colony Capital. At that time, the head of Colony Capital’s Europe division was Sebastien Bazin, and his name, along with then French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, as well as his son, Pierre, appeared in the documents seen by Medipart. While reviewing records from the anticorruption office, judicial police, and national public prosecutor for finances, it became clear that those various entities had looked into text messages between Bazin and Sarkozy. In those exchanges, it was apparent that Sarkozy and his son used their influence with Bazin to ensure that the PSG sale price would drastically increase. Bazin, has since moved on from Colony Capital, but he is now CEO at French hospitality group, Accor. This same company was PSG’s primary jersey sponsor last season, and according to the Mediapart investigation, also compensated Bazin, as well as the Sarkozy’s for their roles in driving up the sale price. Considering the strict rules about separating politics from football, if these reports are indeed accurate, then it will be interesting to see if the matter will be viewed as political, or something less official.
Bazin (left) and Sarkozy (right) attending a PSG match together in 2009
FIFA announces list of World Cup referees
Current head of FIFA’s refereeing committee, Pierluigi Collina, has announced the full list of referees selected for the upcoming World Cup. FIFA and Collina, himself a former referee, have included three women for the first time ever in the 36-person list. The history making referees are: France’s Stephanie Frappart, Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga, and Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita. All three women have officiated various men’s matches and their respective performances have been noticed by FIFA. Collina, upon announcing the list mentioned how it is “quality that counts for us and not gender”, lest anyone think this is just a publicity stunt. Frappart, 38, is the most experienced of the three having been the first woman to referee a Ligue 1 match in 2019, which was the same year she also oversaw the UEFA Super Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool. In 2020, Frappart was in charge of a UEFA Champions League match for the first time, and the French Cup final in May of this year was her latest foray into the men’s game. Meanwhile, Mukansanga—34—made history earlier this year when she became the first woman to officiate a men’s match during the AFCON held in Cameroon. The Rwandan began her refereeing career in the domestic women’s league when she was only 20, and her lengthy experience has earned her an historic call up to Qatar. Yamashita, 36, has also steadily moved up the ranks in the Asian sphere within the past few years. Originally a fitness coach, Yamashita has since gone full time as a referee, and became the first woman to oversee an Asian Champions League match in 2019. In addition to these three women, an additional three have been selected to be assistant referees during the World Cup, and they are: Karen Diaz Medina (Mexico), Kathryn Nesbitt (US), and Neuza Back (Brazil). The match appointments for each of these women will be revealed closer to the tournament, but the call ups themselves are quite the achievement.
Mukansanga (L), Yamashita (C), and Frappart (R) are first women to referee men’s World Cup matches