A new sex scandal has just erupted in the world of sport and this time it touches the world of football. After similar cases in the equestrian world in France or in gymnastics in the United States, this time it is Gabon which is affected by this scourge. According to AFP information, Patrick Assoumou Eyi, a Gabonese coach of the national under-17 team has just been arrested by the police. The latter is accused ofalleged sexual assault on hundreds of children.
Patrick Assoumou Eyi was arrested on Monday in the town of Ntoum, located about forty kilometers from the capital Libreville. “He is currently in the hands of the police after filing a complaint for an act of pedophilia “, a source close to the public prosecutor of Libreville told AFP. This is the British daily The Guardian who released the case last Thursday, incriminating the man who is nicknamed “Capello” and who has held important positions in Gabonese football.
Political chain reactions
“Patrick Assoumou Eyi (…) allegedly abused hundreds of young boys in the course of his duties”, declared the Minister of Sports Franck Nguema last Friday once the case was revealed. In the process, Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba expressed himself, speaking of a case “very serious and unacceptable”, intimidating order “to seize the Minister of Justice for the opening of a judicial investigation in the community of national football for sexual abuses having been committed against children, boys and girls”. Suspended from all functions provisionally at the end of last week, Patrick Assoumou Eyi will therefore be heard by the justice of his country in the coming hours.
Patrick Assoumou Eyi remains presumed innocent of the facts with which he is accused.