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Alain Lobognon
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Côte d’Ivoire's youth and sports minister said on
Wednesday he had left the government amid a scandal involving missing player
bonuses for its African championship-winning soccer team.
The minister, Alain Lobognon, said that he had done
nothing wrong and would make his case in court. A government spokesman declined
to say whether Lobognon had been sacked or stepped down.
President Alassane Ouattara ordered an investigation
last week after players complained that they had not received over US$1 million
in promised bonuses for winning the African Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea
earlier this year.
Lobognon and officials from the Ivorian Football
Federation (FIF) traded accusations of responsibility for the missing money.
The director of the FIF's treasury was sacked last week.
In a series of messages on Twitter, Lobognon wrote
that he had met Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan on Wednesday morning.
"(We) talked about the end of my mission within the government at the
request of the President of the Republic," he wrote. "I wish my
successor good luck."
Lobognon added: "I remain convinced that the
truth about the embezzlement of athlete bonuses will, in the end, be known. My
lawyers will take this to court."
Côte
d’Ivoire's national team, with its roster packed with European-based stars,
defeated neighbouring Ghana in a dramatic penalty shootout in February to claim
only its second African championship title.
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