Abdoulaye Fall faces fresh scrutiny over Senegal FA election

Abdoulaye Fall’s election as president of the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) is under renewed scrutiny after Senegalese media reported allegations of vote-buying and a possible corruption investigation.

More than a year after the election, the result remains contested in Senegal. Fall’s rival had challenged the electoral process at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS), which instructed the appeals commission to review the case again.

The latest claims emerged on Monday, with reports suggesting that Fall and some of his associates could be questioned by investigators in Dakar. The newspaper L’Observateur led with the headline: “Abdoulaye Fall in the sights of the justice system.”

The paper reported that the FSF president and several people close to him were “expected at the Dakar Urban Security Department as part of a judicial investigation into alleged corruption”.

Further material has since circulated on social media. Journalist Mansour Loum published screenshots of conversations in which sums of money were allegedly promised to football leaders in return for voting for Fall.

An audio recording has also emerged. It is said to be a telephone conversation in Wolof between Moustapha Biteye and a club president, with the exchange transcribed into French.

The allegations have added a new dimension to the long-running dispute over Fall’s election, although the reports concern claims of alleged wrongdoing and an investigation rather than an established finding of corruption.