Kheireddine Zetchi has asked to be acquitted at the end of his trial, while his lawyer made a previously undisclosed claim about money the former president of the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) received from the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
After six adjournments and almost two years in pre-trial detention, Zetchi now knows when the court will rule on his case. The trial, which finally opened on 13 October, has been adjourned for deliberation until 27 October.
Before the hearing ended, defence lawyer Me Feddag told the court about financial contributions Zetchi had apparently preferred to keep private.
“I did not want to say this, and I am a little embarrassed because my client does not want me to talk about it,” Me Feddag reportedly told the presiding judge.
He then said Zetchi had personally received $20,000 a year from CAF while leading the FAF, intended to cover his expenses. According to the defence, that amounted to $80,000 over his entire term and was paid back in full to the federation to support women’s football and youth teams.
The lawyer also claimed that Zetchi had donated ceramic materials worth the equivalent of 2.5 billion centimes for renovation work at the national team’s hotel at the Sidi Moussa National Technical Centre.
The court will decide how those claims should be considered in a case focused in part on the FAF’s financial management between 2017 and 2023.
Prosecutors have requested 10 years in prison for each of the federation’s three former presidents: Zetchi, Charaf-Eddine Amara and Djahid Zefizef.
The defence has rejected the accusations. It has argued that the federation’s financial statements were approved by its general assemblies and that the FAF received no public subsidies during Zetchi’s presidency.
In his final statement, Zetchi again sought acquittal and said he met all the conditions for release under judicial supervision.
“These months in prison have been difficult,” he said. He also insisted that he had acted with integrity. “Every night, I ask myself what my wrongdoing was.”
Zetchi is also the founder of Paradou AC and its highly regarded academy. He led the FAF from 2017 to 2021, a period that included the appointment of Djamel Belmadi and Algeria’s historic Africa Cup of Nations triumph in 2019.
That success prompted strong tributes from Belmadi and the national team players when Zetchi’s presidency came to an end.
His time in office was also shaped by a power struggle with the faction represented by Walid Sadi, a former ally of Mohamed Raouraoua and the current president of the FAF. The two men had previously competed for control of the federation.
The investigation that led to the trial began after Sadi took office and made serious statements about the financial position inherited by the FAF.
Zetchi’s supporters have interpreted the case through that political background and raised accusations of a settling of scores. The court is due to rule on 27 October.
