Governing Bodies
COLLUSION CLAIMS IN FIFA GRAFT PROBE
A Swiss prosecutor investigating corruption in football met in secret with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, German and Swiss media have alleged, further fuelling allegations of collusion between the world football governing body and investigators.
Citing unnamed sources, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) and Switzerland’s Luzerner Zeitung suggested that Cedric Remund was the previously unidentified fifth person at a secret meeting with Infantino and Swiss attorney-general Michael Lauber at the Schweizerhof Hotel in Bern on June 16, 2017.
If proven, the allegation could potentially compromise a number of high-profile football corruption probes of which Remund was directly in charge, claimed SZ.
According to the newspaper, the meeting with Infantino was also attended by Lauber’s spokesman Andre Marty and Rinaldo Arnold, Infantino’s friend and senior prosecutor for the Upper Valais canton.
Lauber, who is in charge of the probe into FIFA corruption which opened in 2015, had previously denied the meeting to the ethics body that oversees Swiss ministries during a disciplinary hearing.
Yet a March report by the body said the meeting had taken place, and accused him of “breaching several professional obligations,” including “repeatedly not telling the truth” and “acting disloyally”.
The prosecutor’s salary was since cut by eight per cent, though the 54-year-old remains in office, having been reappointed by the Swiss Parliament last September.
The ethics body also found that a fifth person, who the two newspapers claimed was Remund, had attended the 2017 meeting.
According to SZ, the 38-year-old was in charge of a corruption investigation into Germany’s hosting of the 2006 World Cup, as well as a suspicious TV rights contract – signed by Infantino – between European football governing body UEFA and two Argentinian businessmen in 2006.
Both probes were ongoing at the time of the 2017 meeting.
“What is clear is that an investigating prosecutor should never have been allowed to attend this meeting,” SZ wrote.
Lauber’s office has defended the other meetings with Infantino, insisting they were logistically necessary given the scope of the FIFA graft probe.
Switzerland’s investigation concerns alleged misconduct that occurred before Infantino replaced Sepp Blatter in 2016.
The latter is currently serving a six-year ban from football-related activities over ethics violations and has been accused of arranging a payment of two million Swiss francs (S$2.9 million) to the then UEFA president Michel Platini in February 2011.
-AFP
Governing Bodies
FIFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Congo officials over financial misconduct
FIFA’s ethics committee launched disciplinary proceedings against three senior Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT) officials on Wednesday, including president Jean-Guy Mayolas, over allegations of financial misconduct.
Mayolas, his wife and his son were sentenced to life in prison earlier this month after a criminal court in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, convicted them of embezzling $1.1 million in FIFA funds. Media reports said their whereabouts were not known , and they were tried in absentia.
FECOFOOT general secretary Wantete Badji and treasurer Raoul Kanda are also subject to the disciplinary proceedings, FIFA said. Badji and Kanda were sentenced to five years each in prison by the court in Brazzaville for related charges.
“These proceedings follow the receipt of information and documents during an audit,” FIFA said in a statement.
-Reuters
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The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering rewriting its rules to try barring President Donald Trump and all U.S. government officials from attending the LA Olympics in 2028, in a move that could also have implications for the World Cup being hosted by the U.S. this summer.
The proposal, on the agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting of the global drug-fighting watchdog’s executive committee, is the latest manoeuvre to come out of a yearslong refusal of the U.S. government to pay its annual dues to WADA.
The refusal is part of the American government’s unanimous, bipartisan protest of the agency’s handling of a case involving Chinese swimmers and other issues.
The Associated Press learned of the agenda item through correspondence it obtained between WADA and European officials involved in the agency’s decision-making. Two others with knowledge of the agenda confirmed the existence of the rules proposal to AP; they were not authorised to speak publicly about the agenda, which has not been released publicly.
The proposal was, in fact, first brought up in 2024, when U.S. authorities successfully lobbied for its rejection. The U.S. has since lost its seat on the executive committee.
“In spite of WADA’s increasing threats, we continue to stand firm in our demand for accountability and transparency from WADA to ensure fair competition in sport,” said Sara Carter, the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
The rule, if passed, would figure to be mostly symbolic, given the limits an international sports federation could have on the president of a country attending an event inside his own borders.
“I have never heard of a $50-million-budget Swiss foundation being able to enforce a rule to, for example, prevent the United States president from going anywhere,” said Carter’s predecessor at ONDCP, Rahul Gupta, who was on the WADA executive committee two years ago and led the movement to reject the proposal. “And the next question you have to ask is: How are you going to enforce it? Are they going to post a red notice from Interpol? It’s ludicrous. It’s clear they have not thought this through.”
In a news release after this story published, WADA said the AP story was “entirely misleading,” focusing on Fitzgerald’s statement to the AP that if proposals being discussed were “introduced, given that the rules would not apply retroactively, the FIFA World Cup, LA and Salt Lake City Games (in 2034) would not be covered.”
Fitzgerald’s only answer to three emails from AP seeking clarification on his initial response — specifically about how a rule that had not yet been adopted could or couldn’t be applied retroactively on events that are scheduled for the future — was: “I’m trying to say that it would not apply retroactively so those events would not be covered. Given that and the next meeting of the Board being scheduled for November, I don’t see how it could come into play for this year’s World Cup.”
-AP
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The Confederation of African Football has dismissed Yasin Osman Robleh, the Djiboutian official who headed its judicial bodies for the past six years, in a move aimed at restoring confidence in the organisation’s disciplinary processes.
According to reports from convergence sources, the decision was confirmed on Saturday by CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba, bringing an abrupt end to Robleh’s tenure overseeing the confederation’s disciplinary and investigative committees since 2019.
Robleh’s position reportedly came under increasing pressure following the controversy surrounding sanctions imposed after the Africa Cup of Nations Final between Morocco and Senegal. The disciplinary decisions that followed the match sparked criticism from several quarters and placed CAF’s legal framework under intense scrutiny.
In response to the situation, CAF’s Executive Committee has appointed Togolese lawyer Cedric Egai, currently the confederation’s Director of Legal Affairs, as interim head of the judicial bodies.
Egai is expected to stabilise the organisation’s legal arm while CAF works toward appointing a permanent successor to Robleh.
Disciplinary Decisions Delayed
The leadership change has already affected ongoing disciplinary processes within the confederation. CAF’s disciplinary committee reportedly held hearings last Thursday on several cases, including the high-profile encounter involving Egypt’s Al Ahly and Morocco’s AS FAR.
However, decisions on those matters have been temporarily put on hold pending the confirmation of new leadership within the judicial structure.
Sources indicate that once a permanent successor is appointed, CAF will move swiftly to conclude outstanding disciplinary rulings affecting both clubs and national teams.
Restoring Confidence
The move is widely seen as part of CAF’s effort to restore confidence in its judicial system following weeks of controversy surrounding disciplinary decisions at major competitions.
Robleh’s departure closes a significant chapter in CAF’s legal administration, while Egai’s interim appointment signals a potential shift in leadership and governance at a critical time for African football.
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