“Call me”: Bitam’s proof incriminating FA’s Chairman Kerbadj over match-fixing

Algerian football is in major crisis after a headline grabbing stunt from a linesman in the second division last weekend.

The match between the squads of CA Bordj Bou Arreridj and WA Tlemcen was brought to a standstill on Friday evening when 39-year-old linesman Mahmoud Mounir Bitam took off his shirt and marched off the field as a sign of protest against alleged match-fixing.

For the record, Bitam has refereed at the highest level in Africa, being an assistant in FIFA’s international matches.

The lino’s shirt aimed accusations of manipulation at Hamoum Khelil, the head of Algeria’s referee’s committee, and Mahfoud Kerbadj, the head of the country’s Football Association. 

Bitam revealed that that he had received on his mobile phone SMS messages from the chairman of the Algerian football league Kerbadj himself saying explicitly: “Call me” aimed at persuading him to fix games. This is incriminating evidence against Kerbadj, he argued.

Mahmoud Mounir Bitam told the press the Mahfoud Kerbadj has twice asked him to help fix the result of football matches.

Bitam said that Kerbadj asked him to fix the cup final between Algeria MC Algiers and USM Algiers so that MC Algiers would win.

The linesman also said Kerbadj wanted to influence the 2014 cup semi-final between the teams of JS Kabylie and CRB Ain Fakroun so that JSK would lose “intelligently,” as he put it.