adminPetros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
FIFA have again decided not to endorse the sanctions imposed on individuals over the Asiagate saga and, instead, set new benchmarks which Zifa must attain before they can give the sanctions their approval stamp.
Fifa met with Zifa vice-president Ndumiso Gumede and the association’s chief executive in Zurich, Jonathan Mashingaidze, in Switzerland on Monday in what Gumede described as a no-holds barred indaba.
Gumede yesterday said they had given Fifa their side of the story and the challenges they had faced with bringing the Asiagate saga to its logical conclusion after which the world body outlined their recommendations on the way forward.
The Zifa vice-president said although they had thought instituting an independent body to deal with the match-fixing case was the best move, the world advised them to direct the matter to their disciplinary committee as the two bodies that had previously dealt with the case were merely investigating committees.
“It was a very frank discussion which started by addressing the leakages of information especially from the Fifa office that we were not happy about and the unfulfilled promises of Fifa help that we got from Chris Eaton (former Fifa head of security).
“They also told us that they are aware that these matters take time but they said they would continue to support us,’’ Gumede said. In a letter to Zifa which followed Monday’s meeting in Zurich, secretary to the Fifa Disciplinary committee Marc Cavaliero also commended Zifa for their commitment to “fighting match fixing and preserve the integrity of football in the world.
“The chairman of the Disciplinary committee would like to congratulate Zifa for the commensurate work conducted by the Gumede committee and the Zifa independent disciplinary ad hoc committee to investigate the Asiagate match-fixing scandal, which was reflected in the extensive reports produced by the aforementioned committees, as well as for the association’s commitment in fighting match-fixing and preserve the integrity of football in the world,’’ Cavaliero wrote.
“We would like to thank you once more on behalf of the chairman of the Fifa disciplinary committee, for your attendance, as well as for your presentations made and information provided.
“Having said that, we would like to refer to the conclusion reached by the chairman of the disciplinary committee after a thorough analysis of all the documentation received from your association in relation to the Asiagate match fixing scandal as well as of all relevant regulations of your association as previously stated in our latter dated 25 November 2013.
“The chairman deems that the sanctions imposed by your association on various players and officials in the scope of the investigations and proceedings conducted into the Asiagate scandal cannot be extended at the present stage so as to have worldwide effect since the conditions stipulated in art.136 ff of the Fifa Disciplinary Code were not fulfilled.
“In particular the chairman of the Disciplinary committee considers that disciplinary measures shall be imposed by a judicial body. Equally the competent judicial body according to the relevant regulations of Zifa that can deal with any disciplinary matter, including sanctions to be pronounced following the Asiagate match fixing reports, is the Disciplinary committee of Zifa.
“Therefore and in accordance with the content of the aforementioned letter of 25 November 2013, the chairman would like to recommend to your association to analyse the situation again and in strict compliance with the applicable regulations and procedural rules of your association, to transfer the complete investigation file for the consideration of the Disciplinary committee of Zifa (which appears to be the competent judicial body of Zifa as mentioned above).
“Should the issues raised by the chairman of the disciplinary committee in the letter dated 25 November 2013 be rectified within new disciplinary proceedings of Zifa and Fifa then the chairman would be in a position to re-examine whether the sanctions eventually pronounced could be extended so as to have worldwide effect according to art.136 of the FDC,’’ wrote Cavaliero. But, with Zifa having already pronounced punishment on individuals and even taken some cases before an Appeals Committee, how they can revert to a disciplinary committee, and how it can work without due influence from what has already transpired, remains to be seen.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter