VILNIUS, Sept 4 (Reuters) – The head of Lithuania’s soccer
federation denied any wrongdoing on Tuesday after a court
ordered his suspension during an investigation by prosecutors
and a newspaper reported allegations of embezzlement.
Julius Kvedaras said he was cooperating fully with
investigators and that he had not actually been suspended from
his position, as a court has ordered, but had instead decided to
take a holiday.
Neither the prosecutor’s office, the court or federation
have detailed the allegations against Kvedaras.
The Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) said on its website
that a district court had ordered on Aug. 30 that Kvedaras be
suspended for six months due to “suspicions of criminal
activities”.
The federation added that a decision on the suspension would
be made on Sept 7, when its executive committee is scheduled to
meet, and that representatives from the game’s world and
European governing bodies FIFA and UEFA were invited to attend.
“I have nothing to hide,” Kvedaras told the television
channel run by Lietuvos Rytas, the newspaper that reported the
probe.
Kvedaras said he had not been suspended. “So as not to cause
inconvenience to the federation I took a vacation, which I
haven’t done for 10 years,” he told the television channel.
Lietuvos Rytas said one of the allegations was embezzlement
of UEFA funds intended for the renovation of a stadium in
Vilnius. Kvedaras denied any such activities.
“What was written in the press is a pure lie. In a normal
country I would go to court and get a lot of money… The
(construction) companies were paid directly by FIFA, we had no
access to the money,” he told national television.
Kvedaras was appointed director general of the LFF in 2000
and became president in March this year.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius, writing by David
Mardiste in Tallinn, editing by Patrick Lannin and Matt Barker)
