Fifa boss mum on key questions
INFANTINO REFUSES TO SPEAK TO THE MEDIA Football chief instead pays tribute to Safa at summit.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has heaped praise on Safa following the world body’s two-day African confederation summit in Johannesburg – while, at the same time, leaving a number of skeleton-in-the-cupboard issues unanswered by declining to take questions.
It had been hoped that on his first visit to South Africa since being elected Fifa president, Infantino could throw fresh light and update the world body’s attitude to the still-controversial and lingering issues of match-fixing of Bafana games before the hosting of the 2010 World Cup and the $10 million payment made to disgraced former North American Confederation president Jack Warner.
Instead, Infantino deftly sidestepped questions from the media, prompting a query as to how much had truly changed at Fifa headquarters regarding transformation since the departure of Sepp Blatter and the purported clean-up that followed.
In contrast to his silence when it came to the media queries, Infantino praised Safa for the smooth way in which the African summit had been organised, the organisation’s ambitious plan for development – despite much of it still to be implemented – and the impressive headquarters at Soccer City that was erected with Fifa’s assistance as part of the 2010 World Cup preparations.
But emphasising the dark cloud in the background was the confirmation this week from former CEO Leslie Sedibe that he is suing Safa for R5 million for defamation in relation to his Fifa banning over involvement in the match-fixing issue.
Documents regarding the administration of the Bafana matchfixed games in question bear Sedibe’s signature, but he insists the arrangements were made by others and he was simply rubber-stamping the matter.
What is more, he is threatening to expose all in court.