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ALGIERS- In a developing controversy, the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) is at risk of being suspended from FIFA-sanctioned competitions due to a long-standing dispute concerning licensing decisions. This predicament traces back to 2022 when the FIFA Disputes Commission ruled in favor of Tunisian coach Lotfi Sellimi and his assistant, former Algerian international Khaled Lemmouchia, who filed a complaint against their former club, Olympique Médéa. Remarkably, Olympique Médéa had been barred from recruiting new players by the global football governing body.
To evade further sanctions, Olympique Médéa was obliged to pay an estimated 3.5 billion Algerian centimes. However, due to financial hardships faced by the club, they failed to honor their commitments, leading to a recruitment ban until the debts were settled.
The pivotal moment in this saga came when Ali Malek, the president of the Algerian Amateur League (LNFA), decided to grant new licenses to the incoming recruits of Olympique Médéa. This audacious move could have far-reaching consequences for Algerian football. In response, the legal counsel for Tunisian coach Lotfi Sellimi launched legal action against the club at the highest football authority, FIFA.
The Algerian Football Federation, represented by former Secretary-General Mounir D’bichi, received a communication from FIFA inquiring about the club’s situation and unpaid debts to Coach Sellimi. D’bichi assured FIFA that FAF would commit to settling the debts, especially those owed to former coach Lotfi Sellimi and his assistant, Khaled Lemmouchia.
However, the new president of FAF received another startling correspondence from FIFA, threatening to exclude Algeria from all international football competitions. Further investigation revealed that the controversial decision to issue licenses to previously banned clubs, including Olympique Médéa, was made by the unwavering president of the Algerian Amateur League, Ali Malek.
This dispute, fraught with legal complexities and financial entanglements, has put Algerian football on the brink of international isolation. As the situation unfolds, the Algerian football community, as well as fans worldwide, anxiously await a resolution that could avert a suspension and restore the nation’s participation in FIFA-regulated competitions. The future of Algerian football hangs in the balance as FIFA’s decision looms large, threatening to cast a long shadow over the beautiful game in the country.
