World football governing body, FIFA, has banned the president of the Haiti Football Association, Yves Jean-Bart, for life over the sexual abuse of female footballers in his country.
In April 2020, the Guardian published an investigation carried out on Jean-Bart alleging that the 73-year-old football administrator was sexually abusing female footballers in Haiti. The news outlet also alleged that one of the females Yves Jean-Bart sexually abused had to be forced to abort a pregnancy that emanated from the abuse.
To make matters worse for the embattled football administrator, he was also involved in sexually abusing minors and aspiring female footballers.
The Haiti former FA president who is popularly known in the country as Dadou was then dragged before FIFA‘s independent ethics committee which found him guilty and thereby banned him from all football-related activities for life.
Besides the life ban, Yves Jean-Bart has been mandated to pay a fine worth about one million Swiss francs for abusing his position between 2014 and 2020. FIFA must ensure that a full written document containing the decision gets to the embattled football administrator within 60 days from Wednesday, November 18, before the ruling can fully take effect.
However, the ruling means that Yves Jean-Bart is no longer occupying any football related position including the presidential seat of Haiti football association.
A FIFA statement read: “The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has found Yves Jean-Bart, the President of the Haitian Football Association (FHF) and former FIFA standing committee member, guilty of having abused his position and sexually harassed and abused various female players, including minors, in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics.
“The aforementioned ethics proceedings are part of an extensive investigation concerning Mr. Jean Bart, as well as other officials within the FHF, who were identified as having allegedly been involved (as principals, accomplices or instigators) in acts of systematic sexual abuse against female football players between 2014 and 2020. The proceedings are still pending concerning other FHF officials.
“In its decision, the adjudicatory chamber found that Mr. Jean-Bart had breached art. 23 (Protection of physical and mental integrity) and art. 25 (Abuse of position) of the FIFA Code of Ethics and sanctioned him with a life ban from all football-related activities (administrative, sports, or any other) at both national and international levels. Also, a fine for CHF 1,000,000 has been imposed on Mr. Jean-Bart.”
Meanwhile, Jean-Bart did not accept the ruling of Fifa’s ethics committee and he is planning to appeal the ruling at the court of arbitration for sports.
Yves Jean-Bart has been the president of the Haitian Football Federation for 5 conservative terms. He has served in a couple of FIFA’s committees and was the acting president of the Caribbean Football Union in 2011.
He is seen as the most powerful football administrator in the Caribbean, hence, it is believed that the sexual harassment case that earned him a life ban was a political motivator controversy. As it stands, only the court of arbitration for sports has the final say on the matter.
