30 players to be cleared of Asiagate scandal

Chairman of the committee, retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ahmed Ebrahim, yesterday stressed that his team is committed to spearheading Zimbabwe’s efforts in fighting the scourge of corruption that has permeated sports worldwide.

The Ethics Committee, which was commissioned last October is expected to bring over 100 players and officials for hearings in the Asian trips done by the national team between 2007 and 2009.

Ebrahim yesterday indicated that from the submissions made so far, the committee has been convinced that there are some players who were used as pawns in the infamous excursions, and therefore, have no case to answer. He said the names of the players will be released this week while wider investigations continue.

“We are hoping that sometime during the week we should be able to indicate through our press office that a group of about 30 players will be recommended to Zifa as having no evidence. In fact let me put it more fully that, that our investigations show that they are really exonerated”. he said

Ebrahim however revealed that the committee could take longer than had been expected to complete its task as they are facing various obstacles in their work, chief among them being non-co-operation by some of the concerned players and officials. A large number of witnesses have since testified in the investigations but there are still 15 players in South Africa, one each in Swaziland, Mozambique and Europe who are yet to give their side of the story to the investigating team. He said while praying for a quick end, the committee would not close the chapter until they get all the submissions and will also be forced to wait for the foreign-based players to finish their seasons, with the latest expected to be the middle of May.

“It’s a very expensive exercise, it’s time consuming. Don’t for a moment think that we are sitting back on our laurels. We are doing the best we can but we have still some way to go. As I have indicated, we are pretty well advanced in our investigations. We have a pretty good idea of the ring leaders in this. We also have a pretty good idea of some of the participants who were not ring leaders but who also participated willingly.

Ebrahim said the committee would do all in its power to see justice prevailing in this case but would not be rushed to conclude their work as they believe that “the investigations must be thorough and impartial.”

Initially it had been indicated that the committee could be through with the case by the end of this month but it appears that under the committee’s terms of reference, no timeline has been set as the investigations are likely to be lengthy. Ebrahim said while a lot of ground had been covered to date, there is still more to be done to bring the Asiagate scandal to finality and avoid a repetition of a similar case. “At this point, it appears that certainly a number of persons could, and should, be brought before criminal courts and before a disciplinary committee. However these numbers are certainly likely to increase after further detail is availed,” he said.

The Zifa Independent ad hoc committee chairman also said the Asiagate scandal is a complex issue which needed extra care as it involved a lot of people, some of whom are based outside the country. He also said there may be necessity for the team of investigators to travel outside the country to interview officials of the hosting teams during the tours concerned, subject to proper protocol. Ebrahim said in the cases of individuals who refuse to co-operate, the committee will invoke Article 50 of the Zifa constitution, which is supported by Clauses 97 and 110 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code. Article 110 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code on the collaboration of parties involved states:

i. The parties are obliged to collaborate to establish the facts. In particular, they shall comply with requests for information from the judicial bodies.

ii. Whenever deemed necessary, the secretariat verifies the parties’ versions of the facts.

iii. If the parties are dilatory in responding, the chairman of the judicial body may, after warning them, impose a fine of up to CHF 10,000.

iv.If the parties fail to collaborate, especially if they ignore the stipulated time limits, the judicial bodies will reach a decision on the case using the file in their possession.