Former South African Football Association (Safa) president Kirsten Nematandani has been banned for five years from all football-related activities by the Fifa Ethics Committee.
The ban is related to an investigation into the international friendlies Bafana Bafana played in South Africa on the eve of the 2010 World Cup.
A statement issued on Thursday said the Fifa Ethics Committee found Nematandani guilty of violating the game's ethics.
‘‘In this regard‚ Mr Nematandani was found guilty of having violated art. 13 (General rules of conduct)‚ art. 15 (Loyalty) and art. 18 (Duty of disclosure‚ cooperation and reporting) of the FIFA Code of Ethics (FCE) and was sanctioned with a ban from taking part in any football-related activities for five years‚” the statement 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 and his syndicated organised match officials for these friendly matches.
The investigations‚ initiated in September 2015‚ were conducted by Djimrabaye Bourngar‚ deputy chairman of the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee‚ and the final reports were passed to the adjudicatory chamber on 17 August 2016.
The ethics committee also handed life bans to former official of the Zimbabwe Football Association Jonathan Musavengana‚ and erstwhile coach of the Togo national team Banna Tchanile.
‘‘Furthermore‚ the adjudicatory chamber decided that Mr Musavengana and Mr Tchanile had both infringed art. 13 and art. 21 (Bribery and corruption) of the FCE and imposed a life ban on the two former officials‚” the statement said. — TMG Digital
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