A court in Tunisia has imposed a prison sentence on Wadie Jary, formerly in charge of Tunisian football (FTF) and barred him from holding any position in sports.
The ruling follows a case brought by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which alleged corruption, match-fixing, money laundering, embezzlement during Jary’s tenure which began in 2012.
The verdict marks a significant development in the ministry’s efforts to address corruption in sports. As a result of the ruling, Jary is prohibited from engaging in any official sports-related activities.
The court’s decision underscores the importance of accountability and transparency in sports management.
While details of the alleged corruption and irregularities have not been disclosed, the severity of the sentence suggests serious misconduct.
A BBC report sighted by AhotorSports suggests Local media also revealed disputes between Jary and the sports ministry, while in January 2021 he received a four-year ban from the Tunisian National Olympic Committee after it claimed he had “breached national and international Olympic ethics codes”.
In the autumn of 2020, a heated dispute broke out between Mr. Jary and Taoufik Mkacher, president of the Croissant Sportif de Chebba (CS Chebba) club. The FTF suspended the east-central club, demanding payment of fines and the submission of administrative documents.
This decision, publicly denounced by Mr. Mkacher as an “injustice”, provoked a general strike and demonstrations for over 10 days in this town of 22,000 inhabitants.
Mr. Mkacher and the club’s general secretary had been banned from holding office for two years by the FTF following a Facebook post in which the president of CS Chebba denounced the FTF president’s “authoritarian” management and lack of transparency, and called for an audit of its finances.
Despite that ban, Jary was elected to the Confederation of African Football’s (Caf) executive committee just two months later.
He remained on the the committee while awaiting trial, with CAF general secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba telling the BBC last year that the organisation was “not protecting crooks” and would make a decision on Jary once a verdict was delivered by the Tunisian legal system.
After the charges against him emerged, Jary was taken into custody in October 2023.
