CAIRO — Jacques Anouma has reacted angrily to a decision to prevent him from running as presidential candidate for the Confederation of African Football. Report by BBC Sport
He labelled Monday’s final decision by Caf’s executive committee as “scandalous.”
African football’s governing body has decided that Issa Hayatou, who has led Caf since 1987, is the only official candidate for its election in March.
The Ivory Coast Football Federation nominated Anouma despite him being barred by a rule which allows only voting members of the Caf board to stand.
Caf’s congress in Seychelles in September voted to adopt a controversial new statute that meant only voting members of the executive committee can contest presidential elections.
Anouma is one of Africa’s representatives on the Fifa executive committee by virtue of which he sits on Caf’s Executive Committee as a non-voting member.
He criticised Hayatou’s tactics as “all kinds of manoeuvres which belong to a past era,” in a statement on his website on Tuesday. The 60-year-old Anouma has now pledged to challenge the election rules. “We note this scandalous decision which doesn’t honour African football, nor the confederation responsible for governing it,” the Ivorian said.
“We will continue to work with more determination to one day give our continent a football confederation that is truly democratic, transparent and looking toward the real challenges of the future.”
