Mbalula angry over Fifa’s unilateral decision to take over investigation.
SPORTS Minister Fikile Mbalula is headed for a bitter showdown with Fifa secretary-general Jerome Valcke after the Frenchman announced this week the sport’s governing body would take control of the longrunning match-fixing investigation around Bafana Bafana friendly matches on the eve of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
A seething Mbalula said yesterday he was shocked Valcke did not “have the courtesy” to inform President Jacob Zuma and himself first that former Federal Bureau of Investigations agent Michael Garcia would take over the investigation.
“Jerome Valcke must get it into his head Fifa does not run this country,” an irate Mbalula said.
“SA is a sovereign country and we will never allow ourselves to be usurped by Fifa. I hear through the grapevine he (Valcke) was in the country this week to distribute Legacy Trust money. He does not even call me, and yet he is running around the country making announcements. He did not even have the guts to contact me. I do not even know if he is still here.”
Valcke attended a 2010 Fifa World Cup Legacy Trust board meeting in Johannesburg on Tuesday and he said before returning to Europe Fifa had decided to conduct its own investigation into a saga that has been dragging on for nearly a year.
“The result is the investigation on the match manipulation in SA will be done directly by the Fifa ethics committee. So Fifa will run the investigation and Fifa will take care of this file. Definitely we will need the support of the South African authorities but it will be managed by our ethics committee and by the chairman of this ethics committee, Michael Garcia.
“We are taking over this case and we are making sure Fifa will run this investigation.”
There are still no indications as to when President Jacob Zuma will appoint a judicial commission of inquiry that the government said would investigate the alleged corruption in the friendlies Bafana played in the buildup to the Soccer World Cup.
Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj has steadfastly maintained over the past few months Zuma was still applying his mind but was yet to set a date for the matter.
The Fifa officials have seemingly become exasperated by the slow pace of the South African government and have elected to take matters into their own hands.
Valcke said he did not know if Zuma would still continue with his commission of inquiry after Garcia has wrapped up his own investigation.
“‘I don’t know, I don’t know. I mean there is a time when we have to close this case and there is a time for us to move on and that is why we are doing this.”
Mbalula said he could not understand why the Fifa officials have become impatient after agreeing at a meeting – attended by Valcke, Mbalula and former South African Football Association (Safa) president Kirsten Nematandani – in Zurich, Switzerland, in April that Zuma would be given time to apply his mind.
“We have got an agreement on the table and when the president (Zuma) has decided, he will tell us the way forward. When the president is ready, we will tell Fifa what he has decided.
“If they are so impatient with the process, (Valcke) should have asked to meet the president and myself to discuss this.
“But what does he do, he comes here and makes announcements without talking to us first.”
Mbalula said Fifa should have told him in April when he travelled to Zurich they had the capacity to investigate the match-fixing allegations and he would have saved himself the time he has wasted on the matter over past few months.
New Safa president Danny Jordaan could not be reached for comment yesterday. Valcke said Fifa is investigating other match-fixing cases from around the world and contrary to popular belief, Europe is actually more affected by the scourge than any other part of the globe.
“Just to be clear, match manipulation is not just limited to Africa and it happens all around the world. Match manipulation is happening in many, many countries and Europe is where you find the most problems.”
Row over match-fixing probe
SPORTS Minister Fikile Mbalula is headed for a bitter showdown with Fifa secretary-general Jerome Valcke after the Frenchman announced this week the sport’s governing body would take control of the longrunning match-fixing investigation around Bafana Bafana friendly matches on the eve of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
A seething Mbalula said yesterday he was shocked Valcke did not “have the courtesy” to inform President Jacob Zuma and himself first that former Federal Bureau of Investigations agent Michael Garcia would take over the investigation.
“Jerome Valcke must get it into his head Fifa does not run this country,” an irate Mbalula said.
“SA is a sovereign country and we will never allow ourselves to be usurped by Fifa. I hear through the grapevine he (Valcke) was in the country this week to distribute Legacy Trust money. He does not even call me, and yet he is running around the country making announcements. He did not even have the guts to contact me. I do not even know if he is still here.”
Valcke attended a 2010 Fifa World Cup Legacy Trust board meeting in Johannesburg on Tuesday and he said before returning to Europe Fifa had decided to conduct its own investigation into a saga that has been dragging on for nearly a year.
“The result is the investigation on the match manipulation in SA will be done directly by the Fifa ethics committee. So Fifa will run the investigation and Fifa will take care of this file. Definitely we will need the support of the South African authorities but it will be managed by our ethics committee and by the chairman of this ethics committee, Michael Garcia.
“We are taking over this case and we are making sure Fifa will run this investigation.”
There are still no indications as to when President Jacob Zuma will appoint a judicial commission of inquiry that the government said would investigate the alleged corruption in the friendlies Bafana played in the buildup to the Soccer World Cup.
Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj has steadfastly maintained over the past few months Zuma was still applying his mind but was yet to set a date for the matter.
The Fifa officials have seemingly become exasperated by the slow pace of the South African government and have elected to take matters into their own hands.
Valcke said he did not know if Zuma would still continue with his commission of inquiry after Garcia has wrapped up his own investigation.
“‘I don’t know, I don’t know. I mean there is a time when we have to close this case and there is a time for us to move on and that is why we are doing this.”
Mbalula said he could not understand why the Fifa officials have become impatient after agreeing at a meeting – attended by Valcke, Mbalula and former South African Football Association (Safa) president Kirsten Nematandani – in Zurich, Switzerland, in April that Zuma would be given time to apply his mind.
“We have got an agreement on the table and when the president (Zuma) has decided, he will tell us the way forward. When the president is ready, we will tell Fifa what he has decided.
“If they are so impatient with the process, (Valcke) should have asked to meet the president and myself to discuss this.
“But what does he do, he comes here and makes announcements without talking to us first.”
Mbalula said Fifa should have told him in April when he travelled to Zurich they had the capacity to investigate the match-fixing allegations and he would have saved himself the time he has wasted on the matter over past few months.
New Safa president Danny Jordaan could not be reached for comment yesterday. Valcke said Fifa is investigating other match-fixing cases from around the world and contrary to popular belief, Europe is actually more affected by the scourge than any other part of the globe.
“Just to be clear, match manipulation is not just limited to Africa and it happens all around the world. Match manipulation is happening in many, many countries and Europe is where you find the most problems.”
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