charity money
– The Ivorian has in turn sued the media
house for defamation
Former Ivorian international Didier Drogba
has announced he has started legal
proceedings against the Daily Mail (UK) after
the media outfit published figures stating
just £14,115 of donations to his foundation
appear in the accounts.
The former Chelsea striker clearly denied
reports that just 1% of money donated to
The Didier Drogba Foundation has been
spent on charity purposes after heavy
criticism from a British newspaper.
The English newspaper reported that just
1% of the £1.7 million of UK contributions to
The Didier Drogba Foundation in the past
five years has been spent on good causes.
In a swift, Drogba denied in strong terms, the
defamatory accusations, labeling the report
as “factually incorrect and libelous” in a
statement released on twitter.
The statement reads: “ Despite sending legal
letters and 67 pages worth of documents
advising the Daily Mail that their information
was factually incorrect and libellous, they have
decided to ignore the facts so I am issuing
legal proceedings against them today.
“The Daily Mail by such irresponsible
journalism are jeopardizing the lives of many
thousands of African children. The effect on
these kids in need of healthcare and education
is unimaginable.
“They have already caused an untold amount
of damage by contacting all of my sponsors,
my colleagues, and many of my friends who
generously helped the Foundation with
donations, and put doubts in their mind about
whether to continue to support us in the
future.
“I come from a poor family and I had to work
hard to get where I am today but this would
mean nothing to me if I wasn’t able to give
back to my country, my continent and my
community.
“I want to help children from the Ivory Coast
become leaders of the next generation, actors,
politicians, scientists, doctors, teachers and
sportspeople, but you can only get there with
education and healthcare. By printing these
lies, The Daily Mail is trying to stop Africa’s
development.
He added: “Despite their claims, there is no
fraud, no corruption, no mismanagement, no
lies, no impropriety.”
The 38-year-old still plays as a striker for
Canadian based side, Montreal Impact in the
Major League Soccer.
Sent in by Akan Anwankwo
0 comments:
Post a Comment