February 26 – One of the two candidates reportedly backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino for the top job in African football is at the centre of a transfer scandal that threatens to undermine his credibility to contest the election on March 12.
According to a report by the Josimar investigative website, the Mauritanian FA led by Ahmed Yahya (pictured) were found last year by the domestic supreme court to have illegally withheld $75,000 that was due in 2016 to ASAC Concorde, one of the country’s top clubs, from Spanish club Levante.
Yahya, like all the other candidates vying to take over from Ahmad Ahmad as Confederation of African Football president, was cleared to run by Fifa’s Review Committee, which is responsible for eligibility checks
But the latest revelations could endanger his candidacy with just two weeks to go before the ballot and will not be lost on Infantino who backed the now banned and disgraced Ahmad last time round and will be anxious not to be linked in any way with any contender embroiled in scandal so close to the vote.
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