Former Tunisian FA boss Jary jailed for corruption

Former Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) president Wadie Jary was given a four-year prison sentence for corruption charges.

The conviction stemmed from an “unlawful contract between the FTF and a technical director” during Jary’s term, according to a spokesperson for the nation’s sports ministry.

The 52-year-old’s lawyers say he will appeal against the verdict.

Jary was first elected head of the FTF in 2012 and faced multiple allegations of impropriety during his reign, including match-fixing, financial misconduct and money laundering, all of which he denied.

Jary and the sports ministry engaged in conflict, according to local media, and the Tunisian National Olympic Committee issued a four-year ban in January 2021 after it claimed he had “breached national and international Olympic ethics codes.”

Despite that ban, Jary was elected to the Confederation of African Football’s (Caf) executive committee just two months later.

He remained on the committee while the Tunisian legal system’s verdict was expected, according to Caf general secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba, who claimed the group was “not protecting crooks” and would decide on Jary once a verdict was rendered.