Trial of former FIFA acting president Issa Hayatou postponed to April 16
Hayatou, also a former president of the Confederation of African Football, is accused of favoritism by selling exclusive rights of broadcasting and sponsorship.
The trail of former FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Issa Hayatou was on Monday postponed by the Cairo Economic Court to April 16, reported VOA Africa.
In January 2017, Hayatou, along with former CAF secretary-general Hicham El Amrani, are accused by the Egyptian authorities of violating anti-monopoly rules, after they negotiated television marketing rights with a single company, Lagredère Sports.
As a result of the favoritism, the French company obtained the international television rights to competitions such as the Africa Cup of Nations.
Monopoly broadcasting
The contract between CAF, that is based in Cairo, and Lagredère Sports was signed in 2015 and runs until 2028.
The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) has sued for the suspension of the contract, maintaining that it violates the Egyptian anti-monopoly laws.
According to the ECA, CAF attributed the broadcast rights to Lagardère Sports “without offering them to other interested companies in a framework guaranteeing free and fair competition.”
CAF denies accusations
For its part, CAF has denied any offense, saying that the contract “does not contravene national and international law.”
Africa’s highest authority in football added that the contract was negotiated “after evaluating the various offers submitted and in accordance with existing clauses”.