Fifa, SA row rages

A wall of silence has greeted repeated attempts to unravel Fifa’s decision to appoint a commission of inquiry into allegations of South African match-fixing. Soccer authorities are mum on the global body’s decision to forge ahead with the investigation on

Awall of silence has greeted repeated attempts to unravel Fifa’s decision to appoint a commission of enquiry into allegations of South African match-fi xing.

Fifa, the controlling body for world football, has lost patience with the South African government for its snail’s pace in appointing the commission, which South Africa had asked for.

But yesterday, the walls went up around South African soccer.

Frustrated with the sevenmonth delay, Fifa’s ethics committee prosecutor, former FBI investigator Michael Garcia, opened an investigation into allegations of match-fi xing in international friendlies in the build-up to the 2010 World Cup.

“This is a matter between Fifa and the South African government. Safa has nothing to say about it,” said Safa spokesman Dominic Chimhavi.

The Sports Ministry referred all enquiries to the presidency. However, presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj told the Saturday

Citizen queries should be e-mailed to him. Comment had not been received at the time of going to print.

The exact games were not identified, but South Africa’s 5- 0 win over Guatemala and 2-1 win over Colombia in May 2010, shortly before the World Cup, have long been under suspicion. Three penalties were awarded in each match, mostly for handballs, with a number of questionable decisions.

The alleged match-fi xing came dangerously close to football’s biggest event, with one of the games under suspicion the official opening of the Soccer City stadium in Soweto – the showpiece venue that hosted the World Cup final.

Fifa found strong evidence that the warm-up matches were fi xed, with allegations that the matches were manipulated by crooked referees working for illegal Asian betting syndicates.

In April this year Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, Safa president Kirsten Nematandani and Fifa secretary-general Jérome Valcke met in Zurich, where it was agreed an independent judicial commission of enquiry would be set-up by the South African government. According to Fifa, “the mandate of this judicial investigation will be limited to matters related to the case of irregularities related to friendly matches of Safa in the build-up to the 2010 Fifa World Cup’’.

It was also agreed then Garcia would be part of the commission, subject to constitutional approval by the government. At the time, Valcke said the allegations were hurting South African football. His comments have come home to roost, with Bafana Bafana losing major sponsors Absa and Puma within weeks of each other.

The move by Fifa’s ethics committee exposes a further breakdown in the relationship between the world body and its former World Cup host.

Mbalula slammed Fifa this week, accusing it of interfering in South Africa’s business.

Fifa said yesterday it was authorised to investigate under its ethics code “if associations fail to prosecute potential breaches of that code”.