Tim Spirit | Corruption is rife, but we’ve yet to see a conviction

A former award-winning referee once said that football was rotten to the core.

I couldn’t agree more. His words are still relevant as allegations of corruption continue to dog the beautiful game – yet nothing seems to be done about this scourge.

While most of the focus on exposing the rot has been on the higher echelons, where millions of rands are at stake, it is actually in the lower divisions that claims of corruption are rife.

All the teams in the amateur structures are fighting for one thing – to gain promotion.

Those in the know talk about it openly and allege that match officials are openly corrupt and demand bribes to push certain teams through.

Rather than a case of survival of the fittest, it is more about the survival of those with deep pockets.

It is unfortunate that this is afflicting our football – it defeats the whole purpose of sportsmanship and fair play. How much longer will this be allowed to continue?

An incident last weekend when the driver of a luxury SUV allegedly attempted to run over a match official in an ABC Motsepe League game in Brits, North West, once again highlights the level of anger people feel.

This type of thuggish behaviour cannot be condoned.

While condemning this behaviour, I must also point out that it is a plea for help from a soccer fan. It is often said that desperate times call for desperate measures, and what this driver and other fans who’ve resorted to untoward antics are saying, is: “Enough is enough; something has to be done.”

This SUV incident puts the spotlight on match officials and their dubious officiating.

As mentioned above, there have been other cases of fans venting their fury – shots have been fired and match officials have been manhandled. Surely, and I hope I’m wrong in saying this, someone is going to be killed one day.

Are we going to wait until someone is dead before action is taken?

The unfortunate thing about all of this is that it is nothing new. I was at the Vodacom National playoffs in Mahikeng, North West, in 1999. I attended games in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Polokwane and Kimberley in the early 2000s. These alleged corrupt activities were happening back then.

Sadly, it is not surprising that, 20 years later, this is still happening because nothing has been done to put an end to it. How many successful prosecutions have we had?

Although corruption is happening countrywide, I am told North West is at the centre of such activities.

There have always been stories about how teams paid their way up the rankings, but little has been done to bring the culprits to book.

Those in the know point to the fact that only one club from my province, North West, has qualified for the NFD from the playoffs. This, they say, is because the teams who go to the national playoffs are not deserving teams – they are the ones who have bought their way there.

Statistics seem to back these claims as clubs from the platinum province always fall short of winning promotion. There was even a joke that all the clubs wanted to be in the same stream as a team from Bokone Bophirima as it meant three points in the bag already.

But it is the silence of the mother body, Safa, that is deafening.

By now, there should have been at least a few convictions. When will the authorities act?

I agree that, as much as match officials are at the receiving end of bribes, there are also the corruptors to take into account.

A former referee once told me that a hungry stomach knows no morals. This is true, especially as we hear that officials have to find their own way to match venues. In some instances, they get rides from the same teams they are going to officiate. The teams also have to pay refs their match fees. If this isn’t a recipe for disaster, I don’t know what is.

Safa tried to avoid this situation by opting to pay officials, but I’m told that the refs sometimes go for months without getting paid. If this is the case, how are they supposed to travel to matches? Does this not make them susceptible to taking bribes?

If we want to get our football right, let’s start at the core, where it is rotten, and fix it.

Follow me on Twitter @TimspiritMolobi

	Timothy Molobi News editor City Press p: +27 11 713 9619 w: www.citypress.co.za  e: timothy@citypress.co.za
Rise above the clutter | Get the best of City Press delivered to your inbox | Choose your news