Ball in Bwalya’s court to show he is as clean as a whistle

● Kalusha Bwalya is no saint and if he has joined the gallery of rogues who have fallen foul of Fifa’s ethics committee, he must not escape punishment.

For the uninitiated, Bwalya, the 54year-old recipient of the best African footballer on the continent 30 years ago, is in the dwang.

This after the world football governing body announced on Friday that it has handed him a two-year ban from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level.

“The adjudicatory chamber found Mr Bwalya guilty of having violated article 16 (confidentiality) and article 20 (offering and accepting gifts and other benefits) of the Fifa Code of Ethics.

“A fine in the amount of 100,000 Swiss francs ($100,600, £78,900) was also imposed on Mr Bwalya,” said the Fifa statement.

What crime has the Confederation of African Football (Caf) executive committee member committed which Fifa said they have been investigating since February 2017?

The investigation centred on benefits that Bwalya had received from Mohammed Bin Hammam, the Dohaborn Qatari who is the former head of the Asian Football Confederation and ex-Fifa vice-president who made his fortune in construction. Fifa banned Bin Hammam for life from football in 2011 for his part in a cash-for-votes impropriety.

What are the benefits in question?

This columnist understands that Bwalya was among a handful of people who received Hamilton watches each worth R15,000.

Has Fifa taken similar action against the other recipients of the product produced by a company based in Bienne in Switzerland?

Time will tell whether the clock is ticking for them as well, unless of course

Bwalya must prove that those deals were devoid of any skullduggery and free of any jiggery-pokery

this is a curious case of selective justice.

There is also the matter of a personal loan Bwalya requested from Bin Hammam.

The onus is on Bwalya to produce certified and verified proof documenting that every penny of that money was for what he had requested it for. He must prove without any shadow of doubt that all of the moolah was utilised for its intended purposes.

Could there exist an element of tackling Bwalya from behind owing to his failure to vote for Gianni Infantino, the Kojak lookalike successor of disgraced Fifa president Sepp Blatter?

Those who were part of the congregation of the Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) presidents at the World of Beer in Johannesburg in the build-up to the Fifa presidential election say that the

Zambian informed the Italian in no uncertain terms that he would cast his vote for his rival Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa of Bahrain.

Bwalya must prove that those deals were devoid of any skulduggery and free of any jiggery-pokery. The ball is in his court to show that he is as clean as a whistle. In a statement he said: “I am surprised and saddened by today’s receipt of the notification from the Fifa Ethics Committee adjudication.

“I have instructed my legal team to immediately appeal against this decision urgently and would like to state that I am NOT guilty of any offence‚ which allegedly took place.

“I have never done and will never do anything to bring the beautiful game into disrepute and stand by the facts provided by me to the committee. I unfortunately cannot provide any further details as my legal team has advised that this would jeopardise my chances of obtaining leave to appeal.

“Fifa’s decision is not final and I will fight tooth and nail for justice to clear my name. I thank all my fans for their ongoing support.” Bwalya has been a player, captain, coach and president of the football federation of his country. It would be a crying shame were he to join the gallery of rogues who have fallen foul of the rules of engagement.

Twitter: @bbkunplugged99