A member of the Confederation of African football’s executive committee has said the general secretary, Véron Mosengo-Omba, is “occupying the seat illegally” and must be made to stand down.

Samir Sobha, the president of the Mauritius Football Association, said he would not accept Mosengo-Omba’s presence at Caf meetings because the 66-year-old Swiss-Congolese lawyer no longer holds the position legitimately.

Under regulation 130 of Caf’s employment handbook, 63 is the compulsory retirement age for staff. At the discretion of the president or the general secretary, a single three-year extension can be given under the regulations.

Mosengo-Omba became the general secretary in March 2021, at the age of 61, and was 63 on 15 October 2022. He was given a three-year extension by Caf’s president, Patrice Motsepe, which ran out on 15 October 2025.

“As per the statutes, he is occupying the seat illegally right now,” Sobha said. “I don’t think that the SG is in any legal position to make decisions, to sign a document … I’m pleading with the president to rectify this position … We need to respect the statutes … When it comes to this issue, I think that it is clear.

“This decision [that Mosengo-Omba must vacate his position] needs to be taken, to make sure that we can get, very soon, a full-fledged and legitimate general secretary. Right now, most FA presidents in Africa agree that Mr Mosengo is out of mandate.”

When Motsepe was questioned about Mosengo-Omba after last Friday’s executive committee meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the South African billionaire said: “Retirement is governed by our rules and regulations. We deal with those things not just in accordance with legality, but also with governance. We will take the best decision as Caf, concerning employees.”

Sobha said: “Patrice Motsepe is a very good person; that’s my personal opinion. But it happens that things are not going in the right direction. Some issues need to be fixed.”

Mosengo-Omba was absent from last Friday’s meeting because of an urgent family matter in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “Had he been there, I would have voiced it out, to let everyone know, including the president, that I don’t agree that Mr Mosengo should be sitting there,” the Mauritian said.

Sobha, re-elected to the Caf exco in March last year, also apologised to Morocco for “a great injustice that has been done to the people of Morocco and their national team” in last month’s Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat. Morocco lost 1-0 after a disputed penalty prompted Senegal to abandon the field, before play resumed 15 minutes later.

“I want to plead with the Moroccan FA to forgive us for the injustice done to them … The rules have not been respected, as they should have been in this match … They were robbed. It’s clear that after the Senegalese team left the field, all the players should have been sanctioned with a yellow card.

“I’m not saying we should not give the trophy to the Senegalese team. What has happened has happened already. We can’t change it … But we should put our ego aside and agree that an injustice has been done to the Moroccan national team. Having gone through the competition rules, I’m sure my position is right.” (The Guardian UK)

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