GEBEVA: Authorities in Switzerland are investigating two UEFA employees, who have since been dismissed, over allegations that they received kickbacks, the prosecutor of the Vaud canton said on Friday, confirming reports in the Swiss daily Blick.
The case dates back to April when the police raided the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, on the shores of Lake Geneva between Geneva and Lausanne.
Nothing had filtered out from either the justice department or from the organisation which oversees European football until Blick revealed the case on Thursday.
"The Vaud public prosecutor confirms the existence of a criminal investigation, which included a police intervention at UEFA headquarters. Many people, some of them UEFA collaborators, have been heard," explained the prosecution in response to questions from AFP.
The two accused had been held in custody since April 7 although one was released Wednesday and the other Friday, the prosecutors confirmed.
"The investigation is in relation to arrangements with external ICT (Information and Communication Technology) service providers to the detriment of UEFA, and does not concern the sales of rights or any commercial arrangements with official partners," UEFA told AFP in a statement.
According to Blick's sources, rebates were collected on contracts between UEFA and providers with the sums embezzled said to be substantial.
"UEFA terminated the employment contracts with the staff concerned with immediate effect," said the statement which added that the football body had cooperated immediately and fully with the Swiss authorities.
Deeming itself to be a victim in the affair, UEFA has filed a civil action.
The probe will continue in the coming months, the prosecution said, adding that it will not make any further comments.
Swiss confirm corruption probe into two former UEFA workers
https://arab.news/pqp7u
Swiss confirm corruption probe into two former UEFA workers
- Case dates back to April when the police raided the UEFA headquarters in Nyon
- The two accused were held in custody since April 7 although one was released Wednesday and the other Friday, said prosecutors
Qatar’s Al-Attiyah wins Stage 6 for Dacia, retakes Dakar lead
- Al-Attiyah, 55, has now completed 19 successive Dakars with at least one stage win every time
RIYADH: Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah will lead the Dakar Rally into its second and final week after winning the sixth stage in the Saudi desert on Friday to take over at the top from South African rival Henk Lategan.
Al-Attiyah, a five-time Dakar winner now competing for the Dacia Sandriders, had been second overnight but turned a deficit of more than three minutes into a 6 minutes and 10 second advantage over the 326km timed stage between Hail and Riyadh.
Saturday is a rest day before the rally resumes in Riyadh on Sunday with seven more stages to the finish in Yanbu on the Red Sea coast on Jan. 17.
Al-Attiyah won Friday’s stage by two minutes and 58 seconds from teammate and nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb, Dacia’s first Dakar one-two, with Toyota’s American Seth Quintero third.
Overall, three different manufacturers filled podium positions with Toyota’s Lategan second and Ford’s Nani Roma third — his first time on the virtual podium since 2019.
Al-Attiyah, 55, has now completed 19 successive Dakars with at least one stage win every time.
Friday was his career 49th stage win in the car category — one off the record held jointly by Ari Vatanen and “Mr Dakar” Stephane Peterhansel.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz, father of the Formula One driver and a four-time Dakar winner still racing hard at the age of 63, was in fourth place for Ford with teammate Mattias Ekstrom fifth and Loeb sixth.
American Mitch Guthrie, stage winner on Thursday for Ford, dropped to seventh from sixth.
In the motorcycle category there was no change at the top, although leader and defending champion Daniel Sanders was handed a 6-minute penalty for riding at 98kph in a zone limited to 50kph.
KTM rider Sanders now leads Honda’s American Ricky Brabec, the stage winner after the Australian’s penalty, by 45 seconds with Argentine rider Luciano Benavides more than 10 minutes behind in third.
“It was an emotional rollercoaster all day. Unfortunately, I got a speeding penalty, so that will set me back a bit,” said Sanders.
“I just pushed as much as I could today but it’s hard to do good in the sand, especially opening. I did the best I could and I’ve got to stop making silly mistakes. I haven’t pieced this first week together so well.”
