FIFA, UEFA did not investigate any charges of financial wrongdoing by Pavelko – UAF
FIFA, UEFA did not investigate any charges of financial wrongdoing by Pavelko – UAF
KYIV. May 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – FIFA's investigation against president of the Ukrainian Football Association Andriy Pavelko did not involve possible corruption and financial issues, and the UEFA audit on the spending of funds for Ukraine as a whole did not find any reason even to start an investigation, according to Ukraine's Association of Football (UAF).
"The defamatory article by Swiss journalist Arnaud Bedat about an alleged 'financial investigation' by FIFA against Pavelko has been refuted. FIFA has officially reported that its disciplinary proceedings, falsely described by Mr. Bedat in his article as an investigation of financial matters, actually concerned exclusively public support for Croatian football players from Andriy Pavelko," the UAF said on Facebook on Tuesday.
The UAF explained that the investigation into FIFA ethics, according to, in particular, information received from FIFA by The Washington Post, was launched in August 2018.
"Pavelko objected to the FIFA decision, according to which Croatian defender Domagoj Vida was warned for commenting in an online video after defeating the host of the World Cup in the quarterfinals [Croatia over Russia at the 2018 World Cup]. Vida spoke positively about Ukraine, where he played for Dynamo Kyiv [and mentioned the slogan 'Glory to Ukraine!']," the publication said.
The UAF indicated that Pavelko agreed to pay a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs for his behavior, and this is the only subject of a guilty plea agreement signed with him.
The UAF also emphasized that the theses about allegedly conducting financial investigations in UEFA today involving Pavlenko are not true.
"Since Arnaud Bedat in his preliminary investigation groundlessly accused the UAF of financial fraud, in 2019 the UEFA did address the UAF with a number of questions. Having received all the requested information and checking its reliability, the UEFA did not find any grounds for opening the case," the UAF said.
In addition, the national association recalled that the Swiss court is continuing to consider the case against Arnaud Bedat in the UAF lawsuit for circulating "false and defamatory materials."
