Price is right for Elgin
Elgin City have appointed Gavin Price as their new manager following a U-turn by the man who was previously assistant boss. Price looked set to join former Elgin manager Jim Weir at Forfar but opted instead to stay at Borough Briggs.
Weir headed to Station Park at the start of last week and Price had agreed to join him after taking Elgin in their Irnbru Cup clash against Welsh side The New Saints last Saturday.
But Price changed his mind, saying: “Elgin chairman Graham Tatters came back from holiday at the start of this week and offered me the chance to be the club’s manager.
“He felt that it was in the best interests of the club for me to stay on. I had a long chat with Jim as I said I would join him at Forfar but he agreed that he would not stand in my way.”
Price will take charge for the first time officially against Edusport in the Scottish Cup tomorrow. The Qatari president of Paris Saint-germain is under investigation by Swiss prosecutors for suspected bribery of a top Fifa executive to get World Cup broadcasting rights.
Criminal proceedings against Nasser Al-khelaifi, PSG president and CEO of Qatar-owned BEIN Media Group, former Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke, and an unnamed “businessman in the sports rights sector” were announced by the office of Switzerland’s attorney general yesterday. The case involves the award of broadcast rights for the next four World Cups from 2018 through 2030.
The Paris offices of BEIN Sports were searched by two magistrates from the French financial prosecutor’s office. Properties were also searched in Greece, Italy, and Spain while Valcke was questioned in Switzerland.
“Multiple premises were searched, assets were seized and interviews were conducted as a result of this joint operation,” the EU body known as Eurojust said in a statement. PSG declined to comment.
No suspect was detained yesterday, said Swiss prosecutors whose work investigating Fifa and suspected money laundering linked to World Cup hosting bids began in November 2014.
Al-khelaifi is alleged to have offered “undue advantages” to Valcke – Fifa’s secretary general from 2007 until his firing in January 2016 – for the award of media rights in “certain countries” for the 2026 and 2030 World Cup.
Al-khelaifi and Valcke previously negotiated a deal for the 2018 and 2022 rights weeks after Qatar won the 2022 hosting vote. In January 2011, Fifa announced that Al Jazeera Sports – which later became BEIN – secured the rights for 23 territories across the Middle East and North Africa, including Saudi Arabia. Fifa has never announced if BEIN also secured any 2026 and 2030 World Cup rights.
Swiss prosecutors also allege Valcke received “undue advantages” from a businessman who was not identified to award certain media rights for four World Cups from 2018 through 2030.