Bafana match-fixing suspect pops up again

Singaporean Wilson Maj Perumal sits in the Lapland district court in Rovaniemi, Finland, on Thursday June 9, 2011. Nine players from Zambia and Georgia and a Singaporean man accused of bribing them went on trial Thursday in a match-fixing investigation that has rocked the Finnish football league. The probe centers on Wilson Raj Perumal, also suspected by world governing body FIFA of fixing international games involving African and Asian national teams. (AP Photo/Lehtikuva, Kaisa Siren) FINLAND OUT NO SALES

Singaporean Wilson Maj Perumal sits in the Lapland district court in Rovaniemi, Finland, on Thursday June 9, 2011. Nine players from Zambia and Georgia and a Singaporean man accused of bribing them went on trial Thursday in a match-fixing investigation that has rocked the Finnish football league. The probe centers on Wilson Raj Perumal, also suspected by world governing body FIFA of fixing international games involving African and Asian national teams. (AP Photo/Lehtikuva, Kaisa Siren) FINLAND OUT NO SALES

Published Dec 1, 2013

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Cape Town – The man allegedly at the centre of the match-fixing scandal involving Bafana Bafana in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup has been linked with a fresh bout of match-fixing, this time in the lower leagues in England.

At least seven people, including three players, were held by authorities in England this week following revelations of match-fixing in the lower tiers of football, and face charges of conspiring to defraud bookmakers “by influencing the course of football matches and placing bets thereon” as recently as last month.

And the name of bookmaker and alleged fixer Wilson Raj Perumal has again surfaced, although he was not one of those arrested this week.

Perumal, a Singapore national, owned Football 4 U, a refereeing company which it is alleged was responsible for rigging several of Bafana Bafana’s warm-up matches in the build-up to the 2010 World Cup. He also faces numerous allegations of having had a hand in fixing matches in Africa, the Middle East and Central America.

Perumal is under police protection by Hungarian authorities investigating his alleged crimes.

He was jailed for match-fixing in Finland in 2011.

He was sentenced to two years, but served only a year, before being handed over to authorities in Hungary, who were also investigating football’s betting scams.

The underground sports betting world is worth an estimated e500 billion a year (R6.9 trillion), and Perumal’s name has repeatedly cropped up in connection with several scandals, including:

*The Europol match-fixing investigation earlier this year, where 425 players and officials from 15 countries were linked to attempts to fix an estimated 380 matches.

*Allegedly rigging a match between Nigeria and Argentina on June 1, 2011. The game was won by Nigeria 4-1. As the game was drawing to a close, bets increased for one final goal. After the 90-minute mark, Nigerian referee Ibrahim Chaibou added a suspicious number of extra minutes for a game relatively free of incidents. In the eighth minute of extra time, he awarded a penalty to Argentina for a handball, despite it clearly striking a defender’s thigh. Argentina converted the penalty for the fifth and their only goal.

*Zimbabwe’s Asiagate scandal, which saw the nation purposefully lose several matches on tours of Asia and the subsequent ban of 15 players, officials and journalists.

*Perumal is also known for staging an infamous match between Bahrain and Togo. When Togo lost 3-0, it was eventually discovered that a “fake” Togo team had lined up for the kick-off.

He is also the man at the centre of South Africa’s own match-fixing scandal, having allegedly recruited and supplied referees for several of Bafana Bafana’s key warm-up games ahead of the 2010 World Cup via Football 4 U.

A Fifa report found strong evidence of match-fixing by the referees in victories over Guatemala and Columbia, with other games also under suspicion.

South African football boss Kirsten Nematandani and four other SA Football Association officials were suspended in December last year over the scandal.

They were reinstated earlier this year, but not exonerated, after South Africa failed to launch its own probe, as set out in a meeting with Fifa seven months ago.

Dominic Chimhavi, Safa spokesman, said they had noted reports coming from the UK media, but had no plans to take legal action against anyone at the moment.

“No one has officially been charged, and the reports are just allegations at this point. However, should information relating to South African football emerge, we will act accordingly. We are dedicated to eradicating the blight of match-fixing, not just in South Africa, but globally.”

Although no specific matches were mentioned at the time, Bafana Bafana’s 5-0 victory over Guatemala and the 2-1 victory over Columbia in May, 2010 – just a month out from the World Cup – were long suspected to have been rigged after three penalties, mostly for questionable handball offences, were awarded in each game. The Guatemala game was handled by Chaibou, who was also the official in charge of the controversial Nigeria versus Argentina clash a month later.

The South African match-fixing scandal has dragged on. Two weeks ago, Michael Garcia, head of Fifa’s ethics committee investigation chamber, said they would launch their own preliminary investigation after South Africa failed to launch its own inquiry, as demanded by the world governing body.

This sparked an angry reaction from Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, who said Fifa had overstepped its mark.

“To come to SA, fly in and out without consulting with government to try and understand what the processes are, to make a major announcement, I think that is total disdain, disregard and disrespect of government in SA,” Mbalula said.

After the initial revelations, a request was sent to President Jacob Zuma to set up a commission of inquiry.

Mbalula’s spokesman, Paena Galane, this week said the matter of an internal inquiry was still being addressed.

”We view it in a serious light. The internal processes within government are taking place. At the moment, as stated before, President Jacob Zuma is still processing the matter. When ready, South Africa and the world will know how the president has applied his mind.”

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