Police in Cameroon have opened an investigation into claims that Samuel Eto’o was a part of a match-fixing scandal.
The previous Barcelona striker, who has been president of the Cameroon Soccer Federation (Fecafoot) since December 2021, was accused of serving to to repair matches in Cameroon’s second tier in July after a recording of him talking to somebody alleged to be Valentine Nkwain, the president of Victoria United and generally known as ‘Bobdidy’, was made public. Based on Camfoot, Eto’o allegedly promised to advertise the membership from the second division by manipulating matches – a declare denied by the previous striker and by Nkwain, who has mentioned it was not his voice on the recording.
Police have confirmed in a letter, seen by the Guardian, that they’ve opened an investigation into alleged “abuse of authority and corruption”. They’re understood to have interviewed a number of key witnesses concerned within the case. The investigation can even look into wider accusations of corruption at Fecafoot throughout Eto’o’s tenure, which it’s believed might contain as much as 40 individuals.
On the recording, Eto’o is alleged to have knowledgeable Nkwain that “there are issues we will do” relating to a sport through which Victoria had been crushed 1-0 in December final yr “however it’s a must to be very discreet, brother”. “Don’t fear, we’ll offer you your three factors and we’ll droop the referee,” he’s alleged to have mentioned. “Opopo [Victoria’s nickname] should go as much as the primary division. That is our objective. That is our federation. Victoria United will go up.” Victoria went on to be promoted in April.
Eto’o told the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in June that he had been “speaking to a buddy, somebody who invests in soccer and needs to make his membership among the best in Cameroon”. He mentioned: “I simply reassured him by saying that I might have achieved every little thing attainable to keep away from any refereeing errors in opposition to him.”
The information comes after a gaggle of Cameroon’s soccer officers referred to as on Fifa to take motion in opposition to Eto’o after a collection of public incidents, together with a “violent altercation” with an Algerian journalist on the World Cup in Qatar final yr. The group – which incorporates Pierre Semengue, president of the Skilled Soccer League of Cameroon – have written a letter collectively addressing Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, and the Confederation of African Soccer (CAF) president, Patrice Motsepe, questioning how the previous striker has been allowed to proceed “to illegally impose himself on the Fecafoot presidency”.
A investigation into “sure alleged improper conduct” of Eto’o was opened by CAF in early August however no motion has been taken.
“Not a phrase has been heard from Fifa,” the letter reads, “regardless of quite a few complaints and reminders from Cameroonian soccer actors. How can Fifa proceed to stay silent within the face of so many scandals that compromise public confidence in sporting ethics and the sincerity of matches?”
The letter was additionally important of Infantino after he and Eto’o had been pictured collectively earlier this month in France to debate “soccer growth”.
“The unhappy actuality … is that Africa stays a sort of enclave the place you may take liberties with the ethics and exemplarity that sports activities leaders ought to embody,” the letter says. “Are you able to think about Fifa and Uefa remaining silent when the president of a European soccer federation is suspected of match-fixing, with audio recordings to again it up?”
