Algeria: “I’m embarrassed, my client didn’t want me to…”—Zetchi’s lawyer makes a final revelation

At the end of his trial, former Algerian Football Federation president Kheireddine Zetchi asked to be acquitted; the court is due to deliver its decision on October 27. His lawyer, Me Feddag, said Zetchi had returned to the federation the $20,000 in annual CAF expenses he received—$80,000 in total—to support women’s football and youth teams. The defense also says he donated ceramic tiles worth 2.5 billion centimes to renovate the national team hotel at the Sidi Moussa National Technical Centre. Prosecutors sought ten years in prison for Zetchi and the two other former federation presidents, Charaf-Eddine Amara and Djahid Zefizef, in a case concerning the FAF’s finances from 2017 to 2023.