Nine referees and three teams suspended by Safa Vhembe
The head of referees in Vhembe, Samuel Maduwa, said the association's investigations into other suspected illegal and corrupt activities in local football are ongoing.
POLOKWANE – The beautiful game of soccer in Limpopo has been brought into disrepute as Safa Vhembe region suspended nine soccer referees and three teams over alleged match-fixing and misconduct involving MMK Administrator league matches.
The secretary of Safa Vhembe, Sam Matodzi, confirmed the suspensions.
The head of referees in Vhembe, Samuel Maduwa, said the association’s investigations into other suspected illegal and corrupt activities in local football are ongoing.
“In the interest of protecting the integrity of such investigations, we will not release any further details at this stage. We do, however, commit to acting swiftly, effectively and without fear or favour, should we receive evidence of wrongdoing,” said Maduwa.
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According to Matodzi, the allegations of misconduct relate to match-fixing, unethical conduct and soliciting bribes before and during matches.
“Safa Vhembe stands for integrity in soccer and fans should have confidence in the way the leagues are run. Having clean competitions is our greatest asset. Our soccer matches should not be decided on the gambling market, but on the soccer fields.”
He said it is for this reason that Safa Vhembe has decided to tackle match-fixing, unethical conduct and any corrupt activity head on, by imposing a zero-tolerance policy.
“We have opted for a combined repressive and preventive approach, comprising a wide range of actions and measures. We again appeal to all our teams to report signs of attempted match-fixing and unethical conduct by our referees immediately, and we discourage any club official and referee from involving themselves in corrupt activities during games.”
The investigation follows complaints by owners of several teams that participate in the leagues under Safa Vhembe’s auspices, about the conduct of referees.
According to a source, they believe referees “are killing the standard of soccer in the region, as some of them request payment from clubs, should they wish to win matches”.
Club owners, who wished to remain anonymous, said the issue of bribery had been reported to Safa Vhembe on several occasions.
“We are elated at the suspension of these referees. This will send a message to others that bribery in sport is not acceptable.”
Of the suspensions, one person is an assistant referee in the ABC Motsepe league and a referee in the Sinthumule and Kutama area.
Two suspended referees are linked to matches in Stream A in the Thohoyandou area, while six others are from the Nzhelele area’s stream G. One club official was also suspended.
