The suspended member of the Fécafoot executive committee has sent an official letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, calling for an independent investigation into Samuel Eto’o’s handling, as federation president, of €567,570 linked to the Russia–Cameroon friendly.
The move is official; its outcome is not yet. According to CamFoot.com, Guibaï Gatama, a suspended member of the executive committee of the Cameroon Football Federation (Fécafoot), has sent a letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino. The document formally requests the opening of an independent investigation into Samuel Eto’o’s management of funds.
The British tabloid The Sun and the Cameroonian sports press have reported the details of the letter. The dispute concerns a precise sum: €567,570, linked to the bonus for the Russia–Cameroon friendly. At this stage, FIFA has not yet responded on whether the complaint is admissible.
Compliance and transparency in question
In his letter, Guibaï Gatama denounces breaches of FIFA’s financial compliance and transparency rules, CamFoot.com reports. The letter does not merely point to an internal dispute: it places the matter on the ground of the world governing body’s regulations, addressing its president directly.
The accusations remain allegations made by an official who is himself suspended from the executive committee. None of the information reported by CamFoot.com allows them to be taken as established, and the complaint does not amount to the opening of proceedings.
A climate of internal discord
The move comes amid a climate of sharp internal discord within the Cameroonian federation’s governing bodies, according to CamFoot.com. The referral to FIFA is part of a discord that goes beyond the sole question of the funds linked to Russia.
Samuel Eto’o is also already facing increased pressure over the governance of the national teams, again according to CamFoot.com. The financial case adds to that pressure.
The ball is now in FIFA’s court
What happens next now depends on FIFA’s ethics committee, whose response on the admissibility of Guibaï Gatama’s complaint is awaited. Until that step is taken, the letter sent to Gianni Infantino has no known procedural effect.