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“We are very pleased that we have now come to the end of the popular and infamous Asiagate,” said Dube as he received the report in Harare yesterday.
“What follows is now for the Zifa board to make the ultimate decisions in terms of what to do with the recommendations.
“After that we will also find out from our principals at Fifa, Sports Commission, Caf and even Cosafa. We are going to send them copies of the report and they are very pleased with the way we did it here in Zimbabwe.
“When we commissioned this committee we took it upon ourselves that we were going to receive a lot of criticism from people who committed crimes.
“Corruption has reached alarming levels in this country and it is time that Government must come hard on corruption.”
Dube said corruption had destroyed the game.
“It has not only destroyed football but the economy, even the moral standing and standards of our families,” said Dube.
“We want to put a stop to it and somebody has to do it. In football it is the Zifa board and we must do it. It was empowered to do that type of a task so we are not going to stop.
“This time it is going to be the most difficult period for the committee and the Zifa board. We will not surrender because of the defeat in Angola. No way!
“We are here to clean up football and after that we would have achieved our mandate that we had been given by the authorities.”
Dube said there was need to also review the Warriors.
“One thing that we are going to seriously reflect on is the continued existence of our senior national team. Enough is enough.
“We must now come to a real bold business decision and say where will this team be under the circumstances.
“We cannot have a nation of mercenary footballers. We will not step down until we clean up football. We are going to clean up football as well as the Premier Soccer League.
“We are going to clean it up. There is matchfixing right now in PSL. There is matchfixing in Division One. The referees, we have said it before, we are not pleased with the standards of refereeing.
“We need professionalism in this aspect,” said Dube.
The chairman of the Zifa independent Ethics Committee, retired Justice Ahmed Ebrahim, yesterday said his committee would have done a thorough job had it been given a further 12 months to complete their investigations into the Asiagate matchfixing scandal.
Ebrahim said it was key, too, for his committee to have had the opportunity to interview Wilson Raj Perumal, the Singaporean matchfixing wizard, who was at the centre of Asiagate.
The Independent Ethics Committee boss said the matchfixing scandals had reduced Zifa to an ineffective body while the Warriors had lost respect in the international football community.
Zimbabwe, who once occupied a spot in the top 10 African rankings, are currently ranked number 21 on the continent and 89 in the world.
“It has become evident that Zifa, which was once a thriving and prosperous organ within the sporting industry of Zimbabwe has, through recent escapades of matchfixing, corruption and bribery activities engaged in by some of its officials, been reduced to the non-effective body it is today.
“The Zimbabwe national team has also been reduced in its Fifa rankings and it has lost its former glory and respect.
“It is no longer looked upon or recognised as a force to be reckoned with, which it once was,” he said.
The committee, which was set up in October last year to help bring closure to the scandal in which some national team players and officials were paid to lose matches in their trips to Asia from 2007 to 2009, presented its report to the Zifa board yesterday.
Over 100 players and officials have been suspended from national team duty since last year to facilitate the investigations but 40 players have been cleared of any wrongdoing as of last week.
But a host of other players, who had earlier been cleared for lack of evidence, could also find themselves re-suspended as new evidence, which indicates they might have cases to answer, has emerged.
Ebrahim said his committee, which encountered problems with some witnesses who refused to cooperate, had to work under immense pressure lately because of new evidence coming up.
The committee nonetheless is convinced they did their best under the circumstances and urged Zifa to continue in their efforts to cleanse the game.
“More time was certainly needed in order to undertake interviews of other witnesses and undertake further investigations,” said Ebrahim.
“For example it would have been desirable to interview Wilson Raj Perumal as well as various Zimbabwe players who are plying their trade in other countries. Regrettably, time has been against us and the committee has fallen under scrutiny and pressure to complete its efforts without further delays. There is no doubt that not every avenue has been visited and completely and fully investigated. Even towards the end of the hearings, further evidence emerged that should be followed up. The investigator would have liked a few more months, in which to undertake further inquiries, and to complete the investigation. A case of this nature could have extended over a period of at least 12 months, or even further, as there are so many facets to the investigations which should be checked and analysed. The report that the committee produces will inevitably not be the final one.”
According to the recommendations made by the committee, 93 players could face sanctions ranging from six-month suspensions from all football activities to life bans.
Ebrahim said some of the players, who were cleared by the committee, would needed to be investigated again since they found new evidence late in their investigations.
“Before the commencement of these investigations, Zifa took it upon themselves to suspend at least 80 players and officials. During the initial stages of the investigations, two lists were drawn up of names of players whose suspensions were recommended as being lifted due to lack of evidence of guilt or responsibility on their behalf. However, it must be noted that these lists were compiled due to lack of any evidence of culpability on the part of the players concerned at the time the lists were compiled. As the investigations progressed, evidence came to light which necessitated some players being investigated fully, and in some cases further investigation is still required.
“Some of the players whose suspension was lifted may well find themselves being re-suspended in the future,” said Ebrahim.
Online Reporter