Samuel Eto’o fined after investigation into breach of CAF principles

Samuel Eto’o was fined by the Confederation Africanine de Football (CAF) following an investigation for allegedly violating the principles of ethics and integrity. He was acquitted of charges of fixing football matches.

In August, CAF said it was investigating “serious” allegations of “inappropriate conduct” made by various Cameroonian football stakeholders against the 43-year-old president of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT).

The CAF concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prove most of the charges, but found Eto’o guilty of “violating the principles of ethics, integrity and sportsmanship provided for in the CAF statutes” after becoming an ambassador for gambling company 1XBet.

A statement from CAF read: “The Disciplinary Committee of the Confederation Africanine de Football (‘CAF’) examined the matter of the President of the Federation Camerounaise de Football, Mr Samuel Eto’o Fils.

“Mr Eto’o was accused of allegedly fixing football matches and violating the principles of ethics and integrity.

“The Disciplinary Committee has decided that there is currently insufficient evidence to find Mr Samuel Eto’o Fils and Mr Valentine Nkwain (President of Victoria United) guilty of match fixing.

“However, the Disciplinary Committee concluded that Mr. Eto’o had seriously violated the principles of ethics, integrity and sportsmanship set out in Article 2, paragraph 3 of the CAF Statutes by signing a Brand Ambassador contract with the company 1XBET in return for payment and therefore imposed on Mr. Eto’o a fine of $200,000.”

The athlete In January, Fecafoot reported that it had seen WhatsApp messages, emails, letters and audio recordings that a former Fecafoot manager said were from Eto’o and others. These allegations add to a long list of allegations, including that Eto’o and close associates were involved in match-fixing, abuse of power, physical threats, incitement to violence and spreading false information in Cameroon.

The file was sent to FIFA’s Ethics Committee in July by former Fecafoot vice-president Henry Njalla Quan Junior and investigated by CAF. Eto’o’s lawyers, Vey & Associes – and Eto’o himself – were contacted by The athlete for comment but did not respond. They have previously denied the allegations, calling them “slanderous rumors.”

This is not the first time Eto’o, who became president of FECAFOOT in December 2021, has faced regulatory issues. He was given a 22-month suspended sentence and a £1.4 million ($1.7 million) fine in June 2022 after pleading guilty to tax fraud related to his image rights at matches in Spain.

In May 2023, he announced that he was “proud” to become an ambassador for gambling company 1XBet, even though the code of ethics of world football’s governing body FIFA prohibits “officials” from “directly or indirectly” participating in betting or breaking such links and threatens a three-year ban from football as a maximum penalty.

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Samuel Eto’o, a legend accused of match-fixing, physical threat and incitement to violence

(Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP via Getty Images)