The president of Cameroon football’s national association, Samuel Eto’o, is facing embezzlement allegations. The 45-year-old, who scored 56 goals in 118 appearances for Cameroon, has been accused by former executives of the Federation Camerounaise de Football (FECAFOOT). They allege the former Chelsea and Barcelona striker redirected more than 567,000 euros ($665,000) in appearance fees meant for the federation into his personal bank account.
The allegations were published in The Times newspaper in London. Al Jazeera FECAFOOT requested a comment but did not received a response. Eto’o is also a serving member of the executive on the board of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Al Jazeera contacted the governing body for the sport on the continent but received no reply. It is understood that Eto’o denies all allegations made against him. The alleged embezzlement relates to payments by Russia for a friendly international against Cameroon in 2023.
According to The Times, files seen by the newspaper show that two payments were requested to be paid into an account held by Eto’o with the Qatar National Bank in Doha, Qatar. The former FECAFOOT executives allege they were forced out of the federation under Eto’o. They told The Times that they submitted complaints to FIFA’s ethics committee more than a year ago but have received no substantive update on the investigations.
Al Jazeera has contacted FIFA for a response. The allegations are the latest in a series of controversies surrounding Eto’o, including his suspension by CAF in January for four national team games for alleged misbehaviour during his team’s loss to Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations. FECAFOOT said at the time that the suspension lacked “any explicit justification”.
Eto’o was also banned from attending national team matches for six months after violating FIFA disciplinary regulations during the 2020 Under-20 Women’s World Cup. Details of the incidents were not disclosed, but the statement said Eto’o was deemed guilty of “offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play” and “misconduct” involving officials in charge of Cameroon’s last-16 defeat by Brazil. Eto’o was also filmed attacking a man following a heated exchange outside a stadium during the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and later apologised for the violent altercation.
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