President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Ahmad Ahmad was arrested on Thursday morning at a hotel in Paris, where he was staying to attend the FIFA Congress.
Ahmad was arrested on Thursday morning around 8:30 am at the Berri Hotel in Paris, and held for questioning by the services of the Central Office for the fight against corruption and financial and fiscal offenses ( l’Office central de lutte contre la corruption et les infractions financières et fiscales – OCLIF), according to report by Jeune Afrique.
The report also indicated that the arrest could be linked to the contract with the German equipment manufacturer Puma unilaterally broken by CAF, and engaged another the company, Technical Steel, based in La Seyne-sur-Mer, France.
The contract signing which, according to the former Secretary General of the continental football body Amr Fahmy, was favored by the proximity between Ahmad Ahmad and one of the heads of the French company, whose additional cost would reach $830,000 (€739,000).
However, earlier in April, the President had defended the contract stating that “All decisions were made collegially” and “transparent”.
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The arrest comes as Ahmad Ahmad was in Paris to attend the FIFA Congress, which resulted in the re-election of President Gianni Infantino.
On Wednesday night, CAF announced its decision to have Champions League final second leg match between home side Esperance and Wydad Casablanca replayed following the controversial interruption of the match due to a problem related to the Video Assistance Referee (VAR).
A lively controversy ensued. Tunisia’s Esperance, who were earlier declared winners making it the fourth title in their history, announced their intention to petition the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
3 Comments
Whaaaaat!!!!?
Na wa for Africa Sha!
Why are we making a fool of ourselves before the whole world? After Esperance has lifted the trophy (whether they deserved it or not is another matter), you want to replay the match?
Can you expect such confusion in UEFA Champions league? No wonder the African brand isn’t selling!
We should never have invited FIFA to manage CAF so much damage has been done, we should also train former football players to be coaches and administrators, remember what happened to Nigeria in the 1994 world cup against Italy in the game they should have won, if we are to hire anyone then do so by getting African in diaspora and good luck