SAFA match-fixing: pre-World Cup naivety or serious corruption?
My take on the SAFA match-fixing allegations. Note: Bafana players are EXONERATED... and Wilson Raj Perumal's indiscretions first came to light a year AFTER he organised South Africa's pre-World Cup friendlies.
While his Bafana indiscretions have only came to light a year or so after the matches .... Wilson does have a rather dodgy past.
Facts: He has 13 convictions for forgery, assault, burglary and match fixing in the 80's.
Furthermore he was jailed in the early 90's for match fixing and also convicted in 2000 for assaulting a player in order to affect his teams chances in a match.
And obviously his more 'famous' escapades include his Finland scandal, fake 2010 Togo team and the fatal 2009 Zimbabwe tour to Asia.
All this info is easily available by either googling his name or "football4u".
There reason I bring this up is that surely SAFA (and other national bodies) could have researched this guy and his company prior to reaching an agreement with him?
Although the Bafana players have no part in this matter, I'm not sure about some of the administrators. My gut feeling tells me that they could have been up to some mischief themselves.
This is the very reason that FIFA doesn't allow the appointment of referees to be made via a third party. SAFA have organized friendlies for more than a decade, so surely the know the proper procedure to follow?
While his Bafana indiscretions have only came to light a year or so after the matches .... Wilson does have a rather dodgy past.
ReplyDeleteFacts:
He has 13 convictions for forgery, assault, burglary and match fixing in the 80's.
Furthermore he was jailed in the early 90's for match fixing and also convicted in 2000 for assaulting a player in order to affect his teams chances in a match.
And obviously his more 'famous' escapades include his Finland scandal, fake 2010 Togo team and the fatal 2009 Zimbabwe tour to Asia.
All this info is easily available by either googling his name or "football4u".
There reason I bring this up is that surely SAFA (and other national bodies) could have researched this guy and his company prior to reaching an agreement with him?
Although the Bafana players have no part in this matter, I'm not sure about some of the administrators. My gut feeling tells me that they could have been up to some mischief themselves.
This is the very reason that FIFA doesn't allow the appointment of referees to be made via a third party. SAFA have organized friendlies for more than a decade, so surely the know the proper procedure to follow?
Your thoughts?