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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Acting Sports Editor
CONFEDERATION of African Football president Ahmad Ahmad has been slapped with a five year ban from all football related activity and fined 200 000 swiss franc after being found to have violated a number of articles under Code of Ethics.

The Malagasy national, who had intended to run for another term at the helm of African football, is also accused of using Caf to finance an Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca that was attended by 15 African football association presidents.

In a statement, Fifa said Ahmad breached articles 15, 20 and 25 that deal with duty of loyalty, offering and accepting gifts or other benefits as well as misappropriation of funds. The decision to suspend Africa’s most powerful football personality came after an extensive hearing and it focused on the period between 2017 and 2019.

“The adjudication chamber of the independent Ethics has found Ahmad Ahmad the president of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) and a Fifa vice president, guilty of having breached Article 15 (duty of loyalty ), article 20 (offering and accepting gifts or other benefits and article 25 (misappropriation of funds) of the 2018 edition.

“The investigation into Ahmad’s conduct in his position as the Caf president during the period from 2017 to 2019 concerned various Caf related governance issues, including the organisation and financing of an Umrah pilgrimage in Mecca, his involvement in the Caf’s dealings with the sports equipment company Tactical Steel and other activities. In its decision, following an extensive hearing, the adjudicatory chamber ruled that, based on information gathered by the investigatory chamber Ahmad had breached his duty of loyalty, offered gifts and other benefits, mismanaged funds and abuse his position as the Caf president pursuant to the Fifa Code of Ethics.

“Consequently, the adjudicatory chamber found that Ahmad had breached articles 15,20 and 25 of the current edition of the Fifa Code of Ethics as well as article 28 of the2018 edition and sanctioned him with a ban from all football related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level for five year, in addition a fine of 200 000 swiss franc has been imposed on Ahmad,” reads a statement from Fifa.

The announcement comes just days after the Ethics Committee found Yves Jean-Bart, the president of the Haitian Football Association and former Fifa standing committee member, guilty of having abused his position, and having sexually harassed and abused various female players, including minors, and handed him a lifetime ban.

Meanwhile, investigations by Fifa into sexual harrasment of female referees by some members of the Zifa Referees Committee are now in full swing with the Zurich officials’ investigatory chamber now in the process of gathering evidence by interviewing the victims as well as other witnesses.