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AFCON winner accused of match-fixing

🏆️💰️5-time African Cup Nations Winner, Cameroon, have been eliminated after suffering a lost to Nigeria in the knockout rounds of this year’s Cup of Nations. And the defeat isn’t the only thing Cameroon have tasted. Cameroon has been dealing with spoonfuls of scandals revolving around the tenure of current Cameroon FA President Samuel Eto’o.

🔙🐐 Samuel Eto’o Inter-Barca Legend, arguably one of Africa’s greatest players and Cameroonian striker to bless the pitch. With a glittering career that includes two Africa Cup of Nations, four African Player of the Year Awards, back-to-back UEFA Champions League with FC Barcelona and Inter Milan, along with their respective Spanish and Italian league titles. Samuel Eto’o was elected as President of Cameroon Football Federation back in December 2021. However, his tenure as president has not gone as glorious as his playing days.

• In June 2022, Eto’o was given a 22-month suspended prison sentence and fined $1.7m after leading guilty to a charge of tax fraud linked to his image rights during his time playing in Spain

• In May 2023, Eto’o went against FIFA’s ethics code forbidding officials from participating in betting when he became an ambassador for Gambling company 1XBet

• Eto’o has been forced to apologize for assaulting an Algerian Youtuber at the 2021 Qatar World Cup 

• Eto’o is currently fighting off a lawsuit against his 21-year-old daughter in Italy stemming over unpaid child maintenance

🕵️🔍️ All Eyes of Eto’o, Former Cameroon Football Federation Vice-President Henry Njalla Quan Junior has recently add on to Eto’o’s list. Njalla has accused Eto’o of influencing referees including an phone call Eto’o made at half-time during a game to the officials. Another instance saw the referee send off two coaches, three players and give two penalties against one side in a play-off match. It was further reported that there are messages and audio recordings to corroborate Njalla claims. However, Cameroon Football Federation have also accused Njalla of match-fixing himself. WhatsApp messages, emails, letters, and audio recordings have been leaked to the public. The messages contained the following statement:

• “I am a mafia of this revolution, and in this specific magic, we do not betray our leaders. I have protected the interest of our mission to date. However, if you f**k with me be ready to carry the load of the circumstances”

The Confederation of African Football is already looking into this matter. An inquiry into Eto’o’s alleged inappropriate behavior is already underway. The investigations have resulted I demands for FIFA to remove the 42-year-old from his position as President. Eto’o’s lawyers have responded to the claims as “false” and “baseless”.

• The scandal involving Eto’o could not have come at a worst time for Cameroon, as there’s been a recent rumored altercation with Manchester United shot-stopper Andre Onana considering his international future due to sitting bench.