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The letter dated 2 February 2012 was emailed to this paper by the Zifa communications manager Nicky Dhlamini-Moyo.
The list has 81 players.
Media reports had purported that only three players were suspended instead, raising eyebrows as one of the players never even participated in the Far East matches.
Zifa president Cuthbert Dube was quoted by some sections of the media suggesting that former Hwange, Shabanie Mine, Caps United and now Mamelodi Sundowns player Method Mwanjali, Thomas Sweswe formerly with Dynamos and now with South African giants Kaizer Chiefs as well as Nyasha Mushekwi were the only three players banned.
But it has since emerged that the Zifa president was commenting after receiving a consolidated technical report reviewing the 2012 Nations Cup campaign by the Warriors from head coach Norman Mapeza.
The three were apparently blamed by Mapeza, especially after their performances in Praia where Zimbabwe fell 1-2 to Cape Verde Islands before bowing out of the race.
In the statement Dube clearly stated that those players will remain suspended until cleared by the Ethics Committee led by retired judge, Justice Ebrahim.
“The Zimbabwe Football Association would like to confirm that all players fingered in the Asiagate scandal report are ineligible for all national teams until cleared by the Zifa Independent Disciplinary Ad Hoc
Committee chaired by Justice Ebrahim,” said Dube in his press release.
He said the committee would commence its work in mid February and should complete the assignment by end of next month.
“The association is therefore inviting the players in question to come forward and volunteer information on their involvement and that will be treated with total confidentiality,” read the press release.
Earlier on yesterday Chronicle Sport had spoken to the Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze who had refuted the media reports that only three players were suspended.
“That is official, all those players fingered in the Asiagate report will remain suspended until they are cleared by the ethics committee headed by retired Justice Ebrahim,” said Mashingaidze.
“We know some people have vested interest in this whole Asiagate saga and would always want to distort information to their favour but like I said earlier, the official position is that all those named are suspended from all national team duties,” reiterated the Zifa chief executive officer in a telephone interview from the capital.
Had the three players been suspended for their part in the shamed Far East tours, it would have been a great injustice especially to the former Caps United duo of Mwanjali and Mushekwi. Mwanjali participated in seven of those games yet other players played more games than him while Mushekwi did not even participate in a single match.
All the players named in the report will however remain active at their clubs.
Meanwhile, the fate of Castle Lager Premier Soccer League side Monomotapa will be decided by the ethics committee with the PSL playing a wait and see game over the matter.
Monomotapa travelled to Malaysia posing as the Warriors and even wore national team colours when they played against that country’s national side and were thrashed 4-0.
Malaysia had actually cancelled their international friendly against Liberia after the Liberians had indicated that they would bring their second string side.
The club is likely to face heavy sanctions and could even be expelled from the league.
“I will have to discuss with my counterpart at Zifa but at the moment as PSL we have no idea what is happening or what will happen,” said the PSL chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele when asked to comment on the Monomotapa case.
He could also not comment on the possibility of play-offs in the event the 2008 league champions are kicked out of the league.
Online Reporter