Samuel Eto’o has become the subject of a new controversy over €567,570 paid by Russia for a friendly match against Cameroon in Moscow in October 2023.
According to The Times, contracts and invoices allegedly show that two payments of €455,056 and €112,514 were due to a personal account held by the FECAFOOT president at Qatar National Bank in Doha. Former FECAFOOT officials have referred the matter to the FIFA Ethics Committee, saying they found no records showing that the money later reached an official federation account.
The allegations come as Eto’o’s support for Gianni Infantino and the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise project has also appeared in a recent FIFA court filing in the United States. The former officials have questioned the Ethics Committee’s lack of communication and highlighted the relationship between Eto’o and Infantino. They also want FIFA to examine how the funds moved after Russia made the payments.
However, the claims remain allegations and do not establish any wrongdoing by Eto’o. FIFA maintains that Infantino has “no influence” over its judicial bodies, which it describes as independent. When The Times contacted Eto’o and FECAFOOT, neither had responded by the time the newspaper published its report.
