How SA referee Gomes rejected alleged R362,000 bribe attempt to fix CAF fixture

10 April 2018 - 11:27 By Nick Said
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
South African referee Victor Gomes takes charge during the CHAN Group C match between Nigeria and Rwanda on 15 January 2018 at Grand Stade de Tanger, Tanger Morocco.
South African referee Victor Gomes takes charge during the CHAN Group C match between Nigeria and Rwanda on 15 January 2018 at Grand Stade de Tanger, Tanger Morocco.
Image: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix

Referee Victor Gomes was approached to fix the result of the African Confederation Cup first leg tie between Nigerian side Plateau United and USM Alger of Algeria but rebuffed those advances and has reported the matter to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

TimesLIVE has been able to verify the incident from two independent sources‚ though which‚ if any‚ of the clubs is involved remains a closely guarded secret while the matter is under investigation by CAF.

Gomes was in Lagos along with his assistants Johannes Moshidi and Athenkosi Ndongeni‚ and regular Premier Soccer League referee Thando Ndzandzeka‚ who acted as the fourth official.

They were approached before the game on Saturday with an offer of US$30‚000 (R362‚822) to fix the result‚ but immediately turned down the approach and reported the matter to CAF.

It is unclear at this stage who were the parties involved in trying to initiate the fix‚ one of the clubs or betting syndicates‚ details that will likely come out when CAF release their findings into the incident.

Plateau United won the game 2-1‚ but now face a difficult away trip in the second leg on April 17‚ which will be officiated by Maguette N'Diaye from Senegal.

The attempted manipulation of referees is a long-standing problem on the African continent and just recently South Africa fell foul of this.

Ghana referee Joseph Lamptey was found guilty of match-fixing in South Africa’s 2-1 FIFA World Cup qualifier victory over Senegal in November 2016.

He did this on behalf of betting syndicates and when the match was forced to be replayed by FIFA‚ South Africa lost 2-0.

One of South Africa’s top former referees‚ Jerome Damon‚ has also previously spoken of finding “a bag of cash” in his hotel room on one away assignment in an attempted bribe that he flatly refused.


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now