Ahmad Ahmad, the boss of African football, who has launched
many reforms to fight corruption, has become the man to be
brought down.
“You should always be careful of your right arm because it is often he who
wields the lethal weapon behind your back. ”Ahmad Ahmad should have
made this old Ottoman proverb his own. The President of the African
Football Confederation (CAF) could have avoided the twisted blows of his
former Secretary General, Amr Fahmy. The Egyptian, with the support of
Ahmad’s enemies, has developed an evil plan to stab his boss. A perfectly
orchestrated blow. Last March, the ambitious thirty-six-year-old sent a
letter to FIFA. Briefly and roughly, he accused Ahmad of sexual
harassment and corruption. This is the ultimate achievement for this
pious man who has made corruption his main focus. After thirty years of
Issa Hayatou’s undivided reign, the reforms imposed by the CAF
president have not left only happy people. An African football observer
recounts: “The Hayatou clan has still not digested its defeat and Ahmad
Ahmad’s surprise victory in 2017.“
Desire for revenge
Since then, the former President’s men have only one hurry: revenge.
“Issa Hayatou’s legal troubles have only made the situation worse. Issa
Hayatou, Sepp Blatter’s long-time ally, is considered a leader of the old
world in football, having been heavily convicted in November 2018 by the
Cairo Economic Court (a fine of €25 million) of abusing a dominant
position. Some even argue that through Ahmad, it is above all FIFA
President Gianni Infantino, Blatter’s intimate enemy, whom Hayatou is
trying to destabilize. Indeed, the links between Infantino and Ahmad are
currently strong and this cordial agreement has the ability to make many
intriguers nervous.
Real Game of Thrones of football
In what looks like a “Game of Thrones” football version, all low blows are
therefore allowed. A fine connoisseur of the case explains: “In the era of
#Me Too, it is easy to defile a man’s image by constructing allegations
with the sole word ”harassment“. By taking elements out of context with
the support of some remote-controlled journalists, one quickly finds
oneself in the dock without even being able to defend oneself.” And the
troops of journalists who are ready to smear the reputation of the CAF
president have been in order for several weeks now. Starting with the
“Inside World Football” site run by the sulfurous Hungarian Peter
Hargitay, Sepp Blatter’s great friend and close enemy of Gianni Infantino
and all his allies. It was from this English football site that the first articles
accusing Ahmad Ahmad of sexual harassment and corruption came. In
the background, two contenders from the CAF Executive Committee, are
betting on Ahmad Ahmad falling before the start of the African Cup of
Nations, which will take place from 21 June to 19 July this year, because
according to many experts this competition is looking very promising with
a clear success announced. It is difficult in these conditions to ask for the
head of the man, who will then be the great architect of a football
competition that risks entering the history of African football. In this race
against time, the enemies of the current CAF president are working hard
thanks to the financial support of one member of the CAF Executive
Committee.
Misinformation campaign
Within this system, a name that is well known in African football: the
Frenchman Gérard Dreyfus, a former RFI journalist who has been
converted into sports consulting. This intimate friend of Issa Hayatou is
in charge of relaying elements likely to harm Ahmad Ahmad within the
French-speaking media. In this campaign of misinformation, he is
working with former Secretary General Amr Fahmy. It must be said that
the two men are linked by a common point: they were both fired by
Ahmad Ahmad for their incompetence. Facing serious personal problems
and increasingly delusional behavior, Amr Fahmy, in private, repeats
over and over again that he “has nothing more to lose and that he will do
everything possible to ring the bell for the end of his former boss.” It may
mean going a little too fast and underestimating the warrior virtues of the
Malagasy president.
31.05.2019