The former executive director general of the Professional Football League (LFP) Didier Quillot, who had negotiated the television rights contract with Mediapro, broken Friday December 11, announced Saturday in The team that he intends to return the bonus of 500,000 euros which had then been paid to him.
“Concerning myself, this contract is not coming to an end, I consider it normal to take my part in solidarity with French football, and I will therefore return to the LFP the bonus that I received on this occasion. “
The leader, who had been appointed in March 2016, left his post when businessman Vincent Labrune assumed the presidency of the LFP in September. “I sincerely regret the outcome of this contract for all professional clubs in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, for football families and, of course, for all supporters, apologizes Didier Quillot. I am also thinking of the employees and journalists of the channel [Téléfoot] who did an outstanding editorial job, and to subscribers, who, like all of us, are disappointed. ”
Succession of unpaid installments
Welcomed in 2018 with fanfare, the monumental offer of the Sino-Spanish group Mediapro for the television rights of Ligue 1 turned into a fiasco on Friday. French football will end the contract with its main broadcaster, ushering in an era of economic uncertainty for clubs.
The failure of Mediapro became more and more evident with the unpaid installments, in October, then in December. Or about 325 million euros not paid to the LFP by Mediapro, which invokes the consequences of the health crisis.
The league and its broadcaster have signed an agreement to withdraw Mediapro ” in the near future “, the group led by Catalan Jaume Roures confirmed on Friday evening.
This protocol, which must be approved between December 17 and 22 by the commercial court of Nanterre, will allow the League to recover its television rights, the latter committing in exchange not to sue Mediapro thereafter. . The broadcaster will pay 100 million euros in compensation, of which 36 million will be deferred to 2021.
As soon as the conciliation is closed, the historic broadcaster of French football, Canal +, will have the opportunity to formulate proposals to take over from the Téléfoot channel, according to several sources familiar with the matter. But the channel does not seem in a hurry to reveal its intentions.
