5-year Fifa ban for Nematandani

FORMER South African Football Association (Safa) president Kirsten Nematandani has been banned for five years from all football-related activities by Fifa’s ethics committee.

The ban follows an investigation into a series of international friendlies that Bafana Bafana played in South Africa on the eve of the 2010 World Cup. A statement issued yesterday said the Fifa ethics committee found Nematandani guilty of violating the game’s ethics.

‘Mr Nematandani was found guilty of having violated article 13 (general rules of conduct)‚ article 15 (loyalty) and article 18 (duty of disclosure‚ cooperation and reporting) of the Fifa code of ethics and was sanctioned with a ban from taking part in any football-related activities for five years‚” it said.

A Fifa investigation found that a betting syndicate led by infamous Singaporean match-fixer Wilson Perumal and his Football 4U organisation influenced the outcome of Bafana matches against Thailand‚ Bulgaria‚ Colombia and Guatemala. Perumal organised match officials for these friendly matches.

The investigations‚ begun in September 2015‚ were conducted by Djimrabaye Bourngar‚ deputy chair of the investigatory chamber of the ethics committee‚ and the final reports were sent to the adjudicatory chamber on August 17.

The ethics committee also handed life bans to a former official of the Zimbabwe Football Association, Jonathan Musavengana‚ and erstwhile coach of the Togo national team Banna Tchanile for bribery and corruption. — TMG Digital