Dear Global Football Nation and FIFA Officials,

I hope this message finds you well. We are writing to you as a concerned members of the Lebanese football community, deeply troubled by the deteriorating state of football in Lebanon. After we lost hope in the Lebanese clubs who did nothing but media statements and posts on social media without any serious action to liberate Lebanese football from corruption and the corrupt. It is with a heavy heart that we bring to your attention the pervasive corruption within the Lebanese Football Association (LFA) and the alarming destruction of Lebanese football as a whole.

Some key issues that urgently require your attention are:

1-Political Interference: Political interference in the management of football has exacerbated the crisis, as political affiliations often take precedence over the best interests of the sport.
Lebanese Football Association officials are appointed based on their political affiliations rather than competence and experience in the field of sports. For example, 21 years ago, a well-known political party appointed Mr. Hashem Haidar as president of the Lebanese Football Association. At that time, Mr. Haidar knew nothing about football except that it was circular, and this is what he declared at the time in front of local and international dignitaries at the Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut. As for the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Football Association, Mr. Jihad Al-Shohof, who was also brought into the Federation’s Executive Committee illegally by a well-known political party, by falsifying his registration record, because he didn't complete 10 years as Lebanese citizen, and this is one of the conditions for joining the Executive Committee of the Lebanese Football Federation. He also does not have any certificates that entitle him to this position! And of course, he had no experience in sports.

Political interference is also what the members of the Lebanese Football Association resort to when they encounter crises with clubs over several issues, most notably: Manipulating matches' results, terrorism in football fields during matches (shooting). The evidences in this case are very abundant. Several club presidents declared and threatened to take this issue to your attention, but they backed down, also for the same reason: Political interference and non-sporting settlements, which further legitimized corruption.

We would also like to draw your attention to what recently happened at the Olympic Committee. After the President of the Football Association, Mr. Hashem Haidar, violated the laws of the Olympic Committee and was expelled from it unanimously, he tried to return to it through political interventions, but he failed. He failed because the Olympic Committee has respectable members who work transparently and respect the laws of the International Olympic Committee, which in return confirmed their decision to expel him from the Olympic Committee. You can find out the details of what happened in this case through your communications.

2-Inadequate Facilities and Infrastructure:
This issue, which the Lebanese Football Association manipulates through media, places on the football community the blame for the lack of infrastructure on the Lebanese state and municipalities, knowing that the members of the Lebanese Football Association do not deal seriously with this issue in the state and municipalities in order for football facilities to return to life.
On the other hand, the Lebanese Football Association recently received funding from FIFA to rehabilitate football stadiums. So Mr. Hashem Haidar entrusted his brother and partner with the project to rehabilitate three artificial turf fields instead of presenting the project to the relevant companies, without any standard of integrity and transparency. He chose these stadiums due to the interests that link him with the clubs that own those fields, which is not the first time he has rehabilitated them.
The Secretary General of the Lebanese Football Association, Mr. Jihad Al-Shohof, had a stake in the rehabilitation of Al-Safa field, since he is very close to Al Safa club, and the surroundings of Al Safa field is under his control.

We have not yet mentioned the artificial turf and its dangers to the players and the game. You are the most knowledgeable about the damage caused by artificial turf fields at the level of the cruciate ligament and ankle, and the inhalation of carcinogenic substances emitted from those surfaces, which was proven by international scientific studies. Players in Lebanon in all leagues suffer from this surface, especially when they play matches, where there is competition and a lot of collisions, unlike what happens in training, which is also held on artificial turf fields.

3-Lack of Transparency: The opaque decision-making processes within the LFA have led to widespread distrust among stakeholders, including clubs, players, and fans. For example:

The recent elections for the presidency of the Lebanese Football Association, where the President of the Lebanese Football Association, Mr. Hashem Haidar, bribed several clubs and pressured them through political parties in order to vote for him. He also prevented his rival candidate from having a representative in the elections to count the number of votes, and other details in a case that has gone unnoticed without oversight or judge, and the evidence and data are there and ready to be presented to you once you intervene urgently.

Also, the Lebanese Football Association did not present the project at the various Lebanese TV stations in order to obtain television broadcasting rights for matches. Rather, Mr. Hashem Haidar went directly to obligate television broadcasting rights to MTV, on the condition that Rashid Nassar must be present in the contract between them. Rashid, who declared himself president of the Sports Journalists Association in Lebanon, is the first defender of the Lebanese Football Association, who practices oppression against many who work in the sports field to the point that 80 percent of media professionals became unemployed. He is one of the major corruptors, and his corruption affects the media and national teams in particular.

Cheating is taking place in the trainers’ exams in all categories A, B, C, and D and all that occurs in the presence of the examination observers! Certificates are given to those who do not deserve them. There is even a person who received a training certificate and he cannot read or write! The evidences are there for you when you intervene.

The Lebanese Football Association is also unfair and not transparent in applying the laws. It applies the law to some and turns a blind eye to others. All of this is documented in matches, and in many statements by several administrators and players in clubs in all league divisions.

The formation of national teams and recruitment committees is based on favoritism of all kinds (sectarianism, kinship, blind loyalty to the president and secretary-general of the federation...) and not on the basis of competence, experience and success. This scourge is one of the reasons for the failure of the teams in particular, and the game in Lebanon in general.

4-The corrupt and failed referees committee and Match-fixing:
The Referees Committee is chaired by Mr. Mahmoud Al-Rabaa, who has been in the Lebanese Football Association for nearly 41 years. The other chairman of the committee is Abdul Qadir Saad. What happens in terms of favoritism in this committee, and assigning referees with tasks for which they are not qualified, and the method of suppressing the referees and threatening them to withdraw the whistle from them if they transfer what is happening inside the referees committee to outside, and by paying them insufficient salaries for their necessities in life, and the lack of clear development programs for referees etc....requires intervention for research and investigation on your part.

Match-fixing: Match-fixing scandals have plagued Lebanese football, damaging its credibility, eliminating fair competition and discouraging genuine talent from pursuing careers in the sport. When you intervene and investigate further, you will find evidence from current and former referees, club administrators, media professionals and those working in the game, and not just rumors from fans.

5-Financial Mismanagement: There is evidence of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds within the LFA, leading to financial instability and a lack of resources for the development of grassroots football.
Six months ago, a Lebanese lawyer filed a lawsuit against the Lebanese Football Association in the case of financial waste, and it seems that the case was obscured in the Lebanese judicial corridors, which are currently full of political interference!

6-Miscellaneous:
The secretary General of the Lebanese Football Federation, Jihad Al-Shohof, assaulted the coach of Al-Safa young women’s team with punches and insults in front of the young women themselves! Of course, no one held him accountable! A video of the incident is available on Facebook. What do you think about violence in stadiums? What do you think that the violent person on the stadiums is the Secretary General of Football in Lebanon?

The first half of the Al-Nijmeh club and Al-Ansar club match was held on Saturday, and the second half on Monday, under the pretext of tension between the two fans, in the presence of the security forces!

In another match at Al-Safa Stadium, between Al-Safa Club and Al-Salam Zgharta club.. During the match, bullets are fired by some Al-Safa Club fans from the roof of a building attached to the stadium, in a complete absence of security forces. The match's observer did not announce its end, and it continued as if nothing had happened! We ask you to investigate again because it was manipulated and facts have been changed!

In a match in official tournament in youth league, a football player who is enlisted in a team other than the teams playing the match who was watching the match, he had a gun and shot bullets in sky and terrified everyone present.

In an official tournament, the match begins with a yard referee and an assistant referee, and after half an hour the second assistant referee arrives in the match!

In futsal, a person named Hussein Deeb fought a coach for reasons that we believe are completely distant from football. Hussein Deeb repeatedly persecuted him by punishing him with undeserved suspension, which destroyed his career and future in this game. There is an audio recording of Hussein Deeb threatening to beat the coach upon his return from Saudi Arabia.

In most official matches, when a player is injured, medical evacuation platforms are not available!

And many many more...

We, the lebanese football community, beseech FIFA to intervene urgently and decisively in addressing these pressing issues. We believe that the restoration of integrity and transparency to Lebanese football is not only essential for the future of the sport in Lebanon but also crucial for preserving the core values of FIFA itself.

We kindly request that FIFA conducts a thorough investigation in the corruption within the LFA.

The restoration of Lebanese football is not just about the sport; it's about providing hope, opportunities, and a sense of unity to a country that has endured tremendous challenges. By taking action now, FIFA can play a pivotal role in revitalizing Lebanese football and reaffirming its commitment to the principles of fairness, transparency, and integrity that are at the heart of the beautiful game.

We eagerly await your response and hope that FIFA will take swift and effective measures to address this crisis.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

The Lebanese Football Community