Adel Amrouche of Harambee Stars and Kenya.Courtesy.

FKF allegedly dealing with 'sly and insincere' Amrouche - Mwendwa

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Nick Mwendwa has criticised coach Adel Amrouche as allegedly being 'sly and insincere' following a protracted battle.

FKF has been ordered by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) to pay the former Harambee Stars coach Ksh109 million as compensation for his wrongful dismissal in 2014.

Mwendwa has now claimed Amrouche has not been genuine in his demands after Kenya was again ordered to pay the extra Ksh4 million by the Fifa Disciplinary Committee on Tuesday.

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“You have a coach who is very sly and insincere who on one hand says he wants to support Kenya, work in Kenya and coach Kenya but on the other hand he is demanding Kenya to pay him for five years for time he never worked,” Mwendwa told KTN News.

“I told Adel 'look we have appointed [Stanley] Okumbi for two and a half years to give you time to change your mind'. We hoped he would forget about the past so that we can install him as a coach and move on. 

“He is a sly coach who was given a wrong contract and he has been determined for years to fight and fight. It is ridiculous for him to demand payment for years he never worked for. 

“It all tells you the person he is.”

Mwendwa revealed they will plead with the state to help them settle the fine because he believes Harambee Stars will earn vital experience participating in the World Cup qualifiers if they are not kicked out for non-payment.

“I have said before we have to be in the World Cup qualifier and the millions to Amrouche is nothing compared to the experience from the qualifier whether we qualify or not,” added the president.

“We are going back to the government again to tell them we have a strict 30 days to make the payment. 

“As the head of the federation, I think Kenya should not miss the Qatar World Cup participation and I am very clear about that. I hope the government considers this and changes their minds.

“I hope they do so because if they do not it means we are out of the World Cup qualifiers and a generation of our players will miss the experience.”

Mwendwa is convinced his office has handled the case in the right manner and blamed the Sam Nyamweya regime for the mess they currently find themselves in.

“Let us find a solution for it, let us pay and get out of this and we have made it clear it was a mistake that was done by this office before. We inherited everything good and the bad,” he concluded.

“We have tried to handle this case in the best way possible in the four years and I have personally gone to CAS to defend this case.”

In a recent interview with Nation Sports, here is what the coach stated with regard to his view on the controversy.

“These people [FKF] do not give me respect. I have been patient but I cannot wait any longer. All I want to hear right now is that my money has been paid and in full,” Amrouche said.

“I have suffered. I went for two years without a job after the federation boss fired me without talking to me. I came to Nairobi on three occasions to meet Mwendwa and try to get a solution. He ignored me.

“When we were at [the Court of Arbitration for Sport] in Lausanne, he [Mwendwa] came with three lawyers. He was ready to pay lawyers from Europe millions of shillings but not me.”

Amrouche is handling the Botswana national team now.

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