SWITZERLAND – In the wake of reports that the Confederation of African Football president Ahmad Ahmad was arrested in France on Thursday, FIFA have finally broken their silence.
The world’s football governing body released a statement on the matter, saying the Madagascan boss is questioned for criminal allegations.
The Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) has said the CAF president is currently being questioned by French authorities over corruption allegations.
It has been reported the president was arrested for involvement in a deal unilaterally broken by CAF with the German sports equipment manufacturer, Puma, in favour of French company Technical Steel.
On the other hand, KingFut reports that a major quake has hit the African football authority last month after general secretary Amr Fahmy was axed from his position after he allegedly directed corruption accusations towards Ahmad.
In addition, the Egyptian website noted that Fahmy presented a document to FIFA which featured orders of payment of $20,000 bribes into accounts of African football association presidents, including Cape Verde and Tanzania.
Meanwhile, it is indicated that Ahmad is responsible for costing CAF an extra $830,000 by ordering equipment via a French intermediary company called Tactical Steel.
The statement follows Thursday’s unconfirmed reports that Ahmad was held behind bars on Thursday morning in Paris due to these charges.
“FIFA has taken note of the events concerning Mr. Ahmad Ahmad, who is being questioned by the French authorities in relation to allegations related to his mandate while President of CAF,” read a statement from FIFA.
“FIFA is unaware of the details surrounding this investigation and is therefore not in a position to make any comment on it specifically.
“FIFA is asking the French authorities for any information that might be relevant to investigations taking place within its Ethics Committee.
“As a matter of due process, everyone has the right to the presumption of innocence, but as the FIFA President reiterated yesterday, FIFA is fully committed to eradicating all forms of wrongdoing at any level in football. Anyone found to have committed illicit or illegal acts has no place in football.
“FIFA is now clean from the scandals that tarnished its reputation and this same determination should prevail in governing bodies such as confederations. FIFA will be at the forefront of ensuring that this is enforced by everyone involved in football,” it concluded.
Photo: Cafonline
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