According to an exclusive report by Martyn Ziegler, chief sports correspondent of The Times, Samuel Eto'o, current president of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT), has been accused by former FECAFOOT executives of embezzling over €500,000 in friendly match fees paid by Russia. Documents show the funds were directed to Eto'o's personal account at the National Bank of Qatar in Doha, and three years later, the ultimate destination of the money remains unexplained.

Invoices and contracts reviewed by The Times show the payments were split into two amounts: €455,056 and €112,514, totalling over €560,000. The fees relate to a friendly match between Russia and Cameroon in Moscow in October 2023.

Eto'o, 45, currently serves as FECAFOOT president and is also a member of the CAF Executive Committee. During his playing career, he represented clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea, and Everton, winning the Champions League twice.

Several former FECAFOOT executives told The Times they believe Eto'o forced them out of the federation and insist there is no clear record of the funds. They filed a formal complaint about Eto'o's conduct with FIFA's Ethics Committee over a year ago but have received no updates on the matter since.

These former football officials have consequently questioned whether Eto'o is being protected due to his close relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

FIFA has denied these allegations, emphasizing that Infantino has no authority to interfere with Ethics Committee investigations. Eto'o and FECAFOOT were asked to comment but had not responded at the time the report was published.

A FIFA spokesperson stated: "The FIFA President has no influence over FIFA's independent judicial bodies. FIFA welcomes reasonable oversight, but oversight does not mean amplifying baseless allegations against the FIFA President."

Gibay Gatama, a former member of FECAFOOT's Executive Committee, stated that to his knowledge, there is no accounting or bank evidence proving the funds transferred to Eto'o's personal account were subsequently transferred to FECAFOOT's official account or entered in the federation's records.

Gatama said: "To my knowledge, there is no accounting or bank evidence showing that the funds transferred to Samuel Eto'o's personal account in Qatar were subsequently transferred to the Cameroon Football Federation's official account or entered into the federation's accounting records."

He also stated: "Neither the Cameroon Football Federation nor Samuel Eto'o have denied the existence or authenticity of these transactions, as the documents themselves are quite revealing."

According to Gatama, FECAFOOT's statutes clearly stipulate that all federation funds must be held in accounts opened under the federation's name, not in personal accounts.

Gatama also expressed frustration with the pace at which FIFA's Ethics Committee is handling the matter. He stated that over a year has passed since he submitted the complaint, yet he has received no updates.

He said: "People involved in Cameroon football interpret FIFA's silence as political and institutional support for Samuel Eto'o."

"This impression is further reinforced by his publicly known close relationship with Gianni Infantino, as well as his continued institutional backing from FIFA, including the FIFA Forward project. When serious, well-documented allegations such as these do not result in any clear investigation, and the officials involved continue to receive public support from FIFA, it is understandable that people question whether he is being protected."

Gatama's complaint to FIFA's Ethics Committee is not the first time Eto'o has faced similar allegations.

In 2024, Henri Njalla Quan Junior, former vice president of FECAFOOT, also filed a complaint against Eto'o, accusing him of match-fixing and abuse of power.

Njalla Quan alleged he had been threatened and also questioned the relationship between Eto'o and Infantino.

He said: "Mr. Eto'o has publicly and strongly supported Mr. Infantino, including stating that African football has benefited from his leadership. That is of course his right."

"But when such a strong political and institutional position exists alongside a series of unresolved controversies, it is natural to raise legitimate questions about the nature of this relationship."

"Therefore, it is reasonable to ask: Is there some form of reciprocal political arrangement following Eto'o himself receiving support from FIFA and Infantino during difficult times?"

Eto'o was elected FECAFOOT president in 2021. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to tax fraud related to image rights income from his playing career in Spain, receiving a suspended 22-month prison sentence and a fine of £1.4 million. However, this did not affect his continued tenure as FECAFOOT president.

In February 2025, a previously imposed €200,000 fine on Eto'o by the CAF Disciplinary Committee was overturned.

The original sanction stated that Eto'o's signing of a paid brand ambassador contract with a Russian betting company "seriously violated the principles of ethics, integrity and sportsmanship." The company was also a sponsor of two major professional football competitions in Cameroon, as well as Cameroon's men's and women's national teams.

Under FIFA's relevant regulations, individuals bound by the organization's Code of Ethics are prohibited from engaging in football-related betting activities.

However, Eto'o's lawyers ultimately successfully argued that such cases should be addressed by an independent CAF Ethics Committee, and the previous sanction was therefore overturned.

The CAF Disciplinary Committee also determined at that time that there was insufficient evidence to convict Eto'o of match-fixing.

This allegation previously related to a recorded phone call between Eto'o and a club president. In the recording, Eto'o appeared to promise to help the club gain promotion and potentially influence referees.

In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport in 2023, Eto'o denied any wrongdoing. He explained: "I was speaking with a friend who invests in football and wants his club to become one of the strongest teams in Cameroon. I was simply reassuring him that I would do everything possible to prevent referees from making unfair decisions against them."

Additionally, Sporting Intelligence reported in August 2025 that a law firm in Los Angeles, representing opponents of Eto'o in Cameroon football, requested that the FBI investigate the whereabouts of another friendly match fee of approximately $600,000. The funds related to a friendly match between Mexico and Cameroon in San Diego, USA, in June 2023.

In September 2024, Eto'o was also banned by FIFA from involvement in national team activities for insulting match officials during the FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship in Colombia.

During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he publicly apologized following an altercation with an Algerian social media personality. At that time, Eto'o kicked the individual and described the incident as a "violent brawl."

Eto'o's critics have also claimed he wields significant political influence due to his close relationship with the wife of Cameroon's President Paul Biya and several influential political figures in the country. Some have even expressed concern that publicly opposing him could lead to arrest.

Despite ongoing controversies, Infantino has repeatedly publicly supported Eto'o on social media and congratulated him on his re-election. He has also praised the inauguration of FECAFOOT's new headquarters and noted that part of the project's funding came from FIFA's COVID-19 relief fund.

Moreover, Eto'o recently appeared in a legal document submitted by FIFA to a U.S. court.

In response to a legal document from UEFA, FIFA cited Eto'o's support for the FIFA Forward project. The project originally aimed to sell World Cup-related rights to private investors but was later discontinued. Eto'o had called for the project to be relaunched if Infantino was re-elected.

The document submitted by FIFA quoted Eto'o saying the project "would be very beneficial to African nations as it would allow us to truly compete with football powerhouses," and stated that the plan "could have significantly shifted the balance of power in football, preventing brain drain from Africa and ultimately representing other nations."

To date, regarding the over €500,000 paid by Russia into Eto'o's personal account in 2023, no clear public explanation of its final destination has been provided. Eto'o himself has not responded to The Times' latest allegations.

Website AF đã ra mắt! Xem tin tức đầy đủ, bình luận, chi tiết trận đấu và thống kê trên máy tính. Truy cập: www.allfootballapp.com