A Cairo economic court fined on Monday the former president of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) Issa Hayatou and his general secretary Hicham El-Amrani a sum of EGP 500 million (US$27.9m) each over monopoly practices.
Hayatou and El-Amrani faced charges of violating Egypt’s competition law in selling exclusive broadcast and sponsoring rights to Lagardère Sports without a tender.
The case was referred to the prosecution in 2017, asking for the suspension of the commercial contract between CAF and French company Lagardère Sports because it does not comply with Egypt’s anti-monopoly laws.
The 72-year-old Cameroonian Hayatou lost his position as Caf head, which he held for 29 years, after losing elections in 2017 to Ahmad Ahmad of Madagascar.
The CAF was founded in 1957 in Khartoum by the Egyptian, Ethiopian and Sudanese football associations. Since Cairo is home to the CAF headquarters, the decisions of its officials should be in accordance with the local laws, according to the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA).
©Ahram.org
