Former Barcelona striker, Samuel Eto’o ‘investigated over match-fixing allegations by Cameroon police’

Authorities in Cameroon have reportedly opened a match-fixing investigation against Barcelona legend Samuel Eto’o.

The 42-year-old, who also played for Inter Milan, Chelsea, and Everton, was accused of helping to fix matches in Cameroon’s second tier after a recording of him allegedly speaking to Victoria United president Valentine Nkwain was made public.

According to Camfoot, Eto’o, who has been the president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot) since December 2021, allegedly promised to promote second-division club Victoria United by manipulating matches.

Those claims have been denied by Eto’o and Nkwain, while Victoria United ended up getting promoted.

The Guardian has now reported that, from a letter seen by them, police in Cameroon have opened an investigation into alleged ‘abuse of authority and corruption’.  

It’s said that they have interviewed several key witnesses and looked into wider accusations of corruption at Fecafoot during Eto’s time in the role.

They say that it is believed that the investigation could involve up to 40 people.

Eto’o allegedly told Nkwain in the recording: ‘There are things we can do, but you have to be very discreet, brother.’

‘Don’t worry, we’ll give you your three points and we will suspend the referee. Opopo [Victoria’s nickname] must go up to the first division. This is our goal. This is our federation. Victoria United will go up.’

Eto’o told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in June that he had been ‘talking to a friend, someone who invests in football and wants to make his club one of the best in Cameroon’.

He added: ‘I just reassured him by saying that I would have done everything possible to avoid any refereeing errors against him.’

It comes as the Athletic reported on Wednesday that FIFA is under pressure to remove Eto’o from his role after a group of Cameroonian football officials called on them to take action.

The group, including the president of the professional football league of Cameroon and a former Fecafoot vice-president, wrote a letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino and  Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe, questioning how he has been allowed to continue ‘to illegally impose himself on the FECAFOOT presidency’ after a series of public incidents.

A CAF investigation into “certain alleged improper conduct” of Eto’o was opened in early August, a few weeks after leaked audio had emerged claiming to implicate the 42-year-old in a match-fixing scandal, which he strongly denied.