Fixing scandal gets murkier

Sport on by Mogan Segadavan

THE match-fixing scandal involving Bafana Bafana seems to be getting murkier and murkier.
According to a Sunday Times report there is consensus within Safa that certain pre-World Cup matches were probably "fixed”.
While Safa says it is fully cooperating with the Fifa investigation there are several questions that remain unanswered.
How and why did Safa get involved with Wilson Raj Perumal and his Football 4U? Did someone make contact with Perumal or was it the other way round? If Safa initiated this unholy alliance who was that official/s who did so?
And how much was Safa paid by Football 4U for the "rights” to appoint referees?
It has been widely reported that Safa official Ace Kika had agreed to Football 4U paying the fourth official and match commissioner after Bafana's friendly against Thailand in 2010.
According to a very reliable source a match commissioner for an international match earns R6000 and the fourth official R6500.
Surely Safa could not be that broke to allow Football 4U to pay R12500 on its behalf! Only a commission of inquiry will get to the bottom of the sorry saga. Will the Minister of Sport appoint such a commission? Don't bet on it – all the head honchos in Safa are too well politically connected for that.
While were are on the subject of being conned, about 170 Manchester United fans, mostly from Durban and Johannesburg were literally taken for a ride last week.
The group paid R19995 each for a package which included flights, accommodation, a supporter's jersey and tickets to United's matches against Chelsea and Liverpool.
When the group arrived in London they found that their accommodation was paid for, but they had to source their own tickets.
Worse was to follow. When they got to Manchester they found that their accommodation had been booked but not paid for, and again they had to source their own tickets.
The distraught group had to scramble to raise a further R10000 each to realise their dream of watching their favourite team in action.
SA Sport Packages was reportedly liquidated last week.
A well-known Port Elizabeth businessman who is well known in sporting circles knows what it is all about to be stranded overseas.
He travelled to Twickenham to watch the Springboks in action and ended up watching the game in a local pub.