? Fifa denies Cameroonian official will oversee 2012 tournament
? Hayatou is under investigation over allegations of corruption
Football's under-fire world governing body has executed a bizarre U-turn amid criticism over the appointment of Issa Hayatou to oversee the London 2012 football tournament at a time when he is under investigation by the International Olympic Committee for alleged corruption.
An announcement on the website of the Confederation of African Football on Tuesday read: "CAF president Issa Hayatou has been appointed by world soccer governing body, Fifa, as chairman of the organising committee for the Olympic football tournaments and the Fifa Goal bureau."
It is believed that Fifa also confirmed to journalists who made inquiries on the same day that he had been appointed to chair both committees. It seems Hayatou's name also appeared on Fifa's own website. But late on Wednesday, in the face of mounting criticism over the appointment, it issued a new, opaque, statement.
"Due to a technical error, appointments for Fifa standing committees have appeared on the Fifa website. The appointments for the chairman and deputy chairman of the Fifa standing committees will be communicated in due course," it said.
"Therefore, Issa Hayatou has not been appointed as chairman of the organising committee for the Olympic football tournaments."
An IOC spokesman confirmed that Hayatou, who has been on Fifa's ruling executive committee and president of the Confederation of African Football for more than two decades, remained under investigation by its independent ethics commission over corruption allegations.
"The ethics commission is independent but my understanding is that the investigation is still continuing," he said. It is believed that the IOC's ethics commission will come to a decision within weeks, which is then likely to be discussed by the IOC's executive board in December.
Coincidentally Fifa officials were on Wednesday in Cardiff as part of a fact-finding mission for the Olympic tournament next summer.
Hayatou would have replaced South Korea's Chung Mong-joon as head of the Olympic committee. It is believed that the Cameroonian will not now be appointed to chair the committee. Insiders claimed that his name circulated on internal memos as a possible chairman for the committee but that his appointment was never approved and that the announcement was a mistake.
A BBC Panorama documentary, broadcast on the eve of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup votes last December, alleged that Hayatou was listed as one of those who received kickbacks from the sports marketing company ISL.
Fifa refused to open a new investigation into the affair, during which it has been alleged bribes of $100m (�64m) were paid over a 10-year period. Hayatou had never previously been named in connection with the affair but appeared on a list of 175 payments obtained by the BBC.
Hayatou immediately denied the allegations, saying the 100,000 French francs he was alleged to have received in 1995 was a contribution to CAF's 40th birthday celebrations.
"The IOC has taken note of the allegations made by BBC Panorama and will ask the programme makers to pass on any evidence they may have to the appropriate authorities," the IOC said at the time. "The IOC has zero tolerance against corruption and will refer the matter to the IOC ethics commission."
As well as Hayatou, his fellow IOC member and Fifa honorary president Jo�o Havelange is also under investigation. The BBC has co-operated with the investigation, sharing its material with the IOC.
Hayatou was also last year named, alongside his fellow Fifa executive committee member Jacques Anouma, by a parliamentary select committee as having received a $1.5m bribe from Qatar's 2022 World Cup bid. Qatar and the two Fifa executives strongly denied the allegations and the whistleblower who made them later said she was motivated by malice and had made them up. The sports minister, Hugh Robertson, said on Wednesday: "I'm less concerned by the individuals involved and more by the bigger issue of when Fifa is going to reform. As I've said on countless occasions it needs much greater transparency and accountability before it can legitimately fulfil its role as an international federation."
Mohamed bin Hammam, the challenger to Sepp Blatter for the Fifa presidency, was accused of paying bribes in the chaotic and rancorous run-up to the Fifa election in June and has been banned for life. He denies the claims and has vowed to take the case to the court of arbitration for sport.
Jack Warner, the controversial Fifa vice-president who faced myriad corruption allegations, resigned from the governing body in June this year and the cases against him were closed. Fifa is also investigating 16 Caribbean officials for allegedly accepting $40,000 cash payments and has warned that more cases could follow.
Blatter has promised to unveil a "road map" to reform and reveal more details of his so-called "council of the wise" that will oversee a series of reforms at the next Fifa executive committee meeting on 22 and 23 October. But there is still widespread scepticism over whether the 75-year-old, who has insisted his latest four-year mandate will be his last, can oversee meaningful reform of the organisation.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/sep/21/fifa-issa-hayatou-olympic-football
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