Corruption: Algerian football now before the courts

Text by: Farid Achache Follow

After a complaint against X filed by the Minister of Youth and Sports Sid Ali Khaldi, the protagonists of the case of a fake meeting revealed by the audio recording of a telephone conversation were presented Sunday June 7 before a judge of instruction and locked up. For a very long time, Algerian football has been plagued by corruption.

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Fahd Halfaia, director general of ES Sétif and a players' agent, Nassim Saâdaoui, were imprisoned after being charged by an investigating judge at a court in Algiers. The two men were heard as part of an investigation into a match-fixing case that has shaken the world of Algerian football since mid-May, after the disclosure of a telephone conversation between the two men.

Mr. Saâdaoui has been charged with "  infringing the liberty of others, defamation, and recording telephone calls without consent  ", while the boss of ES Setif is being prosecuted for "  bargaining for matches  ". Other people have been summoned in this case.

A classic affair in Algerian football

The affair broke out after an audio recording involving the two men and other bosses of first division clubs was broadcast on social media. The two protagonists exchanged on an attempt to arrange a match.

The director general of ES Sétif disputes the authenticity of this recording whereas Mr. Saâdaoui defended himself in justice by affirming "to  ignore that it was forbidden to record telephone conversations  ". "  My goal was to protect myself and prove my innocence in this match bargaining  ," he pleaded, according to the Algerian News Agency.

“  It is a classic affair in Algerian football. We have been talking about it for 20 years. Rarely have the cases gone to court. Most of the time they were smothered. But perhaps the context has changed with the new government,  "said journalist Mehdi Dahak of DZfoot at RFI. The Minister of Youth and Sports had reacted to the sound recording by indicating wanting “to  fight corruption in the field of sport and to moralize the sporting life which constitutes an important part in the government's commitment to moralize the environment in general  "

Corruption that  eats away at  Algerian football from the inside

The corruption that plagues Algerian football is not new. On May 12, 2018, during a match between DRB Tadjenanet and ES Sétif, a game operator had reported "  many atypical bets passed on an exact score with large bets compared to the usual bets  ", according to justice French. These “  atypical bets  ” had also been identified by the monitoring system of the Regulatory Authority for Online Games (Arjel). The meeting ended in a 3-2 victory for DRB Tadjenanet against ES Setif. Of the five goals, three had been scored from the penalty spot.

Also in 2018, the BBC had released an investigation with anonymous witnesses describing the corruption that "  eats  " Algerian football from the inside. “  It's easy for everyone to fix matches and manipulate the results. You only need to understand the match-fixing process  , ”an individual accustomed to such practices told journalists from the BBC's Arab service. An arbitrator explained, "  I tried to avoid this for years, but my career was not getting me anywhere. Now, being open to corruption seems to me to be just an extension of my role as an arbitrator. I don't get as much if I don't live with it, and honestly, I have to support my family well with my only salary ...  ”  

A "price  list  " to practice for corruption !

According to information collected by the BBC, corruption of players and officials is so common in Algerian football that there is even an  almost official "  list of prices ". France Football had also looked into corruption in Algeria, revealing some overwhelming figures. The French magazine unveiled the prices used for the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 matches: “  In Ligue 1 : away win: € 58,500. Away draw: € 14,500. Penalty awarded outside: from 7,000 to 14,000 € . "

"  The cleaning of football is one of the priorities of the current management  ", had replied to the BBC the president of the FAF, Kheireddine Zetchi, former president of the club Paradou Athletic Club, who arrived at the head of Algerian football in 2017 "  I reiterate the commitment and the will of the federal authority to put all means to fight against all forms of corruption, a scourge which unfortunately affects national football  ," he said today in a video on the federation website.

The Algerian Championship was suspended in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the end of May, the FAF declared itself in favor of a resumption of the Championship, which remains dependent on a green light from the government.

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