Accusations rock Tunisia: Nabil Kouki pays the price

Serious accusations and a mysterious ending

Nabil Kouki's controversial accusations did not pass unnoticed. The Tunisian coach now finds himself outside Club Sportif Sfaxien's plans after a fresh defeat that sparked anger within the side, along with sharp comments in which he opened fire on coaches, sporting directors and media figures.

Sfaxien's board decided to sack Kouki after the 1-0 defeat to Stade Sportif Sfaxien de Sakiet Ezzit in the fifth round of the Tunisian league, according to the Tunisian newspaper "Assabah".

The squad were due to train on Sunday morning. That session never happened, because the board had already told the coach he was gone, and the suggestion is that his post-match comments hastened his departure.

Kouki lit the fuse at the press conference, accusing certain parties of paying money to launch media campaigns against him and to spread what he described as false reports about the team's declining results, all with the aim of pressuring him into leaving or pushing the board into sacking him.

He said: "There are people paying money to attack me and to spread false reports about a crisis in results. The coach pays money, the sporting director pays money, and the media figures who appear on sports programmes are paid to spread the reports and serve their own narrow interests."

Insisting he knew exactly what was going on behind the scenes, Kouki said matters had gone beyond acceptable limits and that he had faced media campaigns for some time. The comments landed hard in Tunisian sporting circles. Calls followed for him to be held accountable for the accusations, with local reports raising the possibility of him being summoned to give his statement on the matter.