FIFA bans South African officials over match fixing

 

 

FIFA’s ethics committee on Monday sanctioned a former South African football chief, Leslie Sedibe, after an inquiry into match-fixing involving the national team.
Sedibe, who was South African Football Association, SAFA, chief executive for one year including through the 2010 World Cup hosted by the country, received a 5-year ban and 20,000 Swiss francs (18,200 euros/$20,000) fine.
Also, two former referee officials, Steve Goddard and Adeel Carelse, were banned for two years by FIFA’s ethics committee adjudicator chamber.

They were indicted for breaches of conduct and disclosure. But FIFA did not give details of the case.
It said only that the three cases were in connection with “international friendly matches played in South Africa in 2010” before the World Cup.
It will be recalled that another former SAFA referee chief, Lindile Kika, was banned for six year in October 2015 for his role in the match-fixing inquiry.

Kika was one of five senior SAFA officials, including the former president Kirsten Nematandani, put on ‘special leave’ in December 2012 following a FIFA report into match-fixing.

They were reinstated in January 2013, but not cleared of any wrongdoing. They have all left South Africa Football Association.
In 2012, FIFA probed into South Africa’s friendly matches before the 2012 World Cup against Thailand, Bulgaria, Colombia and Guatemala.
It produced a 500-page report that carried the activities of convicted Singapore-based match-fixer, Wilson Perumal and his Football 4U company.