ไทย
English
中國人
Barcelona icon and three-time Champions League champion Samuel Eto'o has returned to the spotlight amid allegations of misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars in international match fees, with FIFA facing criticism for its failure to adequately investigate the president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot).
Sporting Intelligence initially raised concerns last year about a $600,000 match fee from a June 2023 friendly between Mexico and Cameroon in San Diego that appeared to have vanished, and The Times has since added allegations of mishandling over $580,000 (€500,000) that Russia paid nearly three years ago for an October 2023 friendly against Cameroon.
The substantial match fee was deposited into Eto'o's personal account at the Qatar National Bank in Doha across two separate transactions, according to The Times. Former Fecafoot officials, who claim they were pushed out of the federation by the former football star himself, say the current whereabouts of the funds remains unclear.
"To my knowledge, there is no accounting or banking evidence demonstrating that the funds transferred to Samuel Eto'o's personal account in Qatar were subsequently transferred to an official Fecafoot account or recorded in its accounting records," former Fecafoot executive committee member Guibai Gatama said.
"Neither Fecafoot nor Samuel Eto'o has denied the existence or authenticity of these transactions, as the documents are damning."
Gatama and his associates submitted a formal complaint to the FIFA ethics committee more than a year ago. They have yet to receive any follow-up from world football's governing body, a situation the former officials can't help but connect to Eto'o's close personal ties with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
"Cameroonian football stakeholders interpret FIFA's silence as political and institutional support for Samuel Eto'o," Gatama said.
"This perception is reinforced by the close relationship he publicly displays with Gianni Infantino and by the institutional support he continues to receive, notably through the Fifa Forward Enterprise project. When accusations as serious and documented as these result in no visible investigation, while the official concerned continues to be publicly promoted by Fifa, it becomes legitimate to speak of protection."
Eto'o and Infantino's Relationship Comes Under Fire
FIFA's president has found himself at the heart of his own controversy ever since his FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan was leaked to the press in the days following the 2026 World Cup final. Infantino's proposal to sell stakes in future FIFA competitions, including World Cups, to private investors was met with swift and widespread backlash, including from powerhouse UEFA, which condemned the president's attempt to put the sport up for sale.
Eto'o, a longtime ally and close confidant of Infantino, has controversially been the Swiss official's most vocal supporter in the aftermath of the now-abandoned proposal, even suggesting that FFE should be revived should Infantino secure re-election next March.
"I don't think that President Gianni Infantino has done anything wrong," Eto'o, widely regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, said last month. "I am convinced the voices that were raised [against Infantino], those are not the voices of the majority."
"President Gianni Infantino has changed football," Eto'o added, offering a level of emphatic backing that was actually referenced by FIFA in recent legal documents amid criminal threats from UEFA. "He's given opportunities to nations that didn't have those opportunities to take part in the most beautiful tournament, the World Cup. He enabled smaller nations to get seats at these competitions.
"He has helped our continent. He's helped our federations to develop much more quickly, and we need to acknowledge that. We need to accept and recognize what he's done, and we should support him for everything he's done up to now."
As recently as this week, Eto'o once again stepped up to defend Infantino, taking a notably personal tone. "In my heart, president Gianni has become, well beyond the world of football, a brother, a big brother, a friend, someone we watched to come to the fore, someone we've supported, with whom we have built things together that serves football," Eto'o told France24 on Thursday.
"I will vote for him for everything he has brought to African football," he added.
But, in addition to that, I will campaign among my fellow presidents so that, for once, all 54 presidents of the Confederation of African Football will vote in favor of Gianni."
Former Fecafoot vice-president Henry Njalla Quan Junior lodged separate complaints with FIFA's ethics committee in 2024, accusing Eto'o of match-fixing and abuse of power. Like Gatama, he believes the close bond between Eto'o and Infantino may be responsible for the stalled or halted ethics proceedings.
"When such strong political and institutional alignment exists amid unresolved controversies, legitimate questions about the nature of that relationship are bound to arise," Quan argued.
"It would therefore be reasonable to ask: is there an element of political reciprocity arising from the support he himself has received from Fifa and Mr. Infantino during difficult periods?"
FIFA maintains that the relationship between Eto'o and Infantino has had no bearing on the ethics committee's investigations. "The FIFA president has no influence over FIFA's judicial bodies, which are independent," a spokesperson told The Times. "FIFA welcomes legitimate scrutiny. But scrutiny is not a license to amplify unsubstantiated allegations in relation to the FIFA president."