Zifa seek closure on Asiagate

Ngqwele Dube Sports Correspondent
FOOTBALLERS and officials that had been handed various sanctions over their involvement in the Asiagate saga are set to be handed a reprieve as Zifa seeks to bring to finality the long dragging match-fixing scandal. Zifa have started the hearings afresh and sources at the football body said most of the sentences would be rescinded following a directive from Fifa that reduced the previous hearings to investigative reports.

The sources said more people are going to see their sentences being lifted after Sunday Chidzambwa’s life ban was recently nullified.

“It was the first among the cases as Zifa seeks to close the chapter on Asiagate that has tainted local football. I think most people can breathe a sigh of relief as the process is likely to be over in the next two months,” said the source.

Zifa lawyer, Ralph Maganga said Fifa had directed the country’s football mother-body to start the process again using the Ahmed Ebrahim hearings as an investigative report and use the association’s judicial body to bring the matter to finality.

Maganga said they intend to complete the process by the end of June.

The legal practitioner, however, said the sentences imposed are still valid and those facing bans can only get reprieve once they are cleared by Zifa’s disciplinary committee.

“While Fifa have stated that we erred in using the Ebrahim committee to impose sentences as we should have resorted to our own judicial body, the Zifa Disciplinary Committee, they said the sanctions only fall off if one has been cleared by the DC,” said Maganga.

“Fifa wrote in March 2014 to say that they were unable to extend the bans to have a worldwide effect as they said the Ebrahim committee had not complied with the Fifa requirements.

“Fifa told us to use the reports to the judicial bodies which in our case is the disciplinary committee set up in terms of our statutes and have hearings there.

“So the process which has commenced now is to use the three investigation reports which are the two done by former vice president, Ndumiso Gumede and the one by Justice Ebrahim to resolve this matter through the the disciplinary committee.’’

Maganga said issues like that of former Njube Sundowns defender Danisa Phiri that involve mistaken identity would not have to go to the disciplinary committee.

“In such cases the person can come up with his passport and we look at it and simply absolve him without having to go to for a hearing. It’s similar to Ashley Rambanepasi, who has been cleared as he did not travel with the national team as he was injured. He simply came to us and we sorted out the issue,” he said.

Players that were handed life bans include former Warriors captain Method Mwanjali, goalkeeper Edmore Sibanda, Thomas Sweswe, Phiri and former Dynamos defender Guthrie Zhokinyi.

Other individuals such as Mwanjali and Sweswe had paid $6,000 appeal fees as they sought to have their cases heard again and Maganga said the new hearings have an appeal effect hence this will give the footballers an opportunity to present their cases anew.