FIFA maintain distance from allegations of Hayatou corruption

By Andrew Warshaw

December 9 – FIFA were quick to distance themselves today from African football chief Issa Hayatou’s increasingly insecure position as the fallout continued over the ISL corruption affair.

Hayatou, a FIFA vice-president and head of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), was disciplined by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), of which he is also a member, yesterday for his role in the same allegations that led to the resignation earlier this week of the former FIFA President Joao Havelange.

Havelange – the IOC’s longest serving member having been part of the organisation since 1963 – Hayatou and International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Lamine Diack were among those named on a list of kickbacks made by ISL, FIFA’s now defunct former TV marketing partner, between 1989 and 1999.

While Hayatou was given a reprimand for receiving 100,000 French francs, Diack was handed a warning by the IOC.

Both rulings were in stark contrast to the lack of action taken by FIFA which has steadfastly refused to open an investigation into the corruption claims, made in a BBC television broadcast last year.

Hayatou, CAF boss since 1987, claims he had accepted the money in 1995 to finance the 40th anniversary dinner of the CAF.

The Cameroonian had told the IOC Ethics Commission that he had personally taken the cash because of “the state of banking technology in some countries, making cash payments was current practice at the time”.  

Significantly, the FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, said last month that FIFA had inspected the CAF books and that the money had been properly accounted for.

The IOC’s version of events begged to differ, placing Blatter in an awkward position just when he is trying to clean up world football’s governing body.

The Ethics Commission discovered in fact that the documents had been drawn up “a long time after receipt of the funds” and “do not guarantee that these payments were indeed made into the CAF accounts.”

Further, it added: “It considers that personally accepting a sum of money in these conditions constitutes a conflict of interests.”

But in the briefest of statements today, FIFA refused to widen the probe into any wrongdoing by Hayatou. “FIFA has taken note of the IOC’s decision. FIFA cannot speculate on any potential future investigations and has no further comment to make at this stage,” said an emailed statement to insideworldfootball.

Ironically, Blatter, had promised to release files relating to the ISL case at the FIFA Excecutive Committee in Tokyo later this month but now admits the process has been held up by legal action from one of those named in the documents.

The Tokyo revelations were due to have been the first step in FIFA’s so-called two-year road to reform, the credibility of which has now already been undermined.

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