Two former PSG presidents fined and given suspended jail terms

Two former presidents of League 1 football side Paris Saint-Germain have been found guilty of illegal transfer dealings and handed suspended jail sentences.

Francis Graille and Laurent Perpere were convicted of forgery and using forged documents to boost salaries in a bid to attract big name players to the club with undeclared money.

Perpere was president of the club between 1998 and 2003 and was given a US$50,000 fine and a twelve-month suspended jail sentence. Graille replaced him as president and held the position until 2005. He was handed a US$25,000 fine and an eight month suspended prison sentence.

Several agents were also handed suspended jail terms for their parts in the scam, while Nike France was fined just under US$190,000 for its part in the operation.

Prosecutors had spent four years investigating the illegal employment practices at at PSG during Perpere and Graille’s reigns, which saw 24 players and two coaches allegedly benefit from the system to the sum of US$11 million.