Fifa: Asiagate players deserve chance to appeal

Fifa has told Zimbabwe to put a proper appeals process in place so that the football officials and players it banned for their involvement in the Asiagate affair have a chance to clear their names .

The Zimbabwe Football Association imposed life bans on 15 officials and players two weeks ago .

Fifa said the appeals process must also be made available to the 64 other officials and players who face bans ranging from six months to 10 years. The names of the 64 will be announced this week - and six South African players are expected to be on the list.

The Zimbabwe Football Association initially said that those wanting to appeal their banning would have to approach the Court for Arbitration in Sport, in Switzerland.

But that court will not take on a case until it receives a hefty deposit, usually in the region of R200000.

Fifa has said that the Asiagate players must be allowed to appeal through the Zimbabwe Football Association's internal disciplinary set-up, which must include an appeals board and an independent arbitrator.

Fifa's legal department this week sent out a letter in which it said that it wanted an assurance that Zimbabwe had followed procedure before it would agree to making the bans applicable worldwide .

Fifa is unlikely to extend the Zimbabwe bans until it is completely satisfied about the matter.

In the meantime, the affected players continue to play for South African clubs.

Prior to handing down the bans, the Zimbabwe Football Association commissioned a board of investigation, headed by a retired judge, to look into the match-fixing allegations. It uncovered widespread cheating by Zimbabwean teams during their tours to Asia between 2007 and 2009.

Sunday Chidzambwa, a former coach of Zimbabwe's national side, stepped down as the coach of PSL side Black Leopards this week .

Though Leopards' management had made a show of supporting Chidzambwa it felt that the shadow of Asiagate made it difficult for him to carry out his duties.

Leopards have employed Ian Palmer for the rest of the season.

Also banned for life are Mamelodi Sundowns defender Method Mwanjali, who has not played for the club since the ban, and Thomas Sweswe, who has featured for Wits in two games since the announcement of the sanction.

The other six South Africans facing bans are: Washington Arubi and Lionel Mtizwa (AmaTuks), Nyasha Mushekwi (Sundowns), Tafadzwa Rusike (Ajax), Ramson Zhuwawo (AmaZulu) and Gilbert Mapemba (Swallows).