By Awambeng Fuh
Football writer kick442.com – Cameroon
Chad captain Marius Mouandilmadji has announced that he has withdrawn plans to pursue criminal proceedings and a complaint before the FIFA Ethics Committee after accepting an apology from Tahir Oley Hassan, president of the Chadian Football Federation.
The former Coton Sport FC de Garoua and FC Porto forward, who now plays for Samsunspor and captains the Chad national team, made the announcement in a statement released on Friday.
Mouandilmadji disclosed that he was summoned to a meeting on Thursday, July 2, by Chad’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Nair Abakar. The meeting was attended by fellow player Amine Hiver and FTFA president Tahir Oley Hassan.
According to the striker, the federation president formally apologized to him and four other players who had been the subject of allegations that recently plunged Chadian football into controversy. The apology was delivered in the presence of the sports minister after several hours of discussions.
Mouandilmadji explained that he and his teammates had stated in a legal notice sent to the FTFA president a week earlier that they were willing to abandon criminal proceedings and a complaint before FIFA’s Ethics Committee, provided the federation president apologized and publicly restored the honour of the wrongly accused players.
With that condition now fulfilled, the players have agreed to withdraw all legal and disciplinary actions, saying their reputation has been restored in the eyes of the Chadian people.
The 27-year-old, however, stressed that he would never tolerate anyone damaging his image or compromising his values and dignity.
Mouandilmadji also praised Sports Minister Nair Abakar for his wisdom, openness and exemplary handling of the crisis, while thanking the Chadian people for standing by him throughout the ordeal.
Ending his statement on a reconciliatory note, the Chad captain declared that the matter now belongs to the past and called for unity in support of Chadian football.