Match-fixing accused out on bail

A man accused of trying to fix a PSL play-off match has been granted bail in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court.

A man accused of trying to fix a PSL play-off match has been granted bail in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court.

Published Jun 10, 2011

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A Sandton man arrested for allegedly trying to fix the result of a soccer match will have to report to the Sandton police station twice a week.

Rakhange Humphrey “Mr Cool” Setshedi appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday on charges of corruption. He was released on R10 000 bail and his case was postponed to September 11. He was also ordered to surrender his passport.

Setshedi, 41, was arrested after police received information from the SA Football Association (Safa) of possible match-fixing in the Vodacom League play-offs between Mpumalanga’s Sivutsa Stars and Garankuwa United. The suspect had allegedly approached match officials at a city hotel on Tuesday and tried to bribe them to influence the match in favour of Sivutsa.

The referee informed Safa officials, who alerted the police.

A member of the Hawks, posing as a match referee, met the suspect at the Southern Sun Hotel. During the meeting, the suspect agreed to pay the “agent” in order to secure a win for Sivutsa. A follow-up meeting was arranged at the V&A Waterfront on Wednesday in order for the actual payment to take place.

The agent met the suspect at a restaurant. There, the suspect handed R2 000 to the agent. Once the transaction had been finalised, the suspect was arrested.

Safa officials in Cape Town denied knowledge of the incident, but police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut confirmed the arrest.

Sivutsa won the match 2-0.

The Vodacom play-offs for qualification to the National First Division have been dogged by allegations of bribery and corruption.

Earlier on Tuesday, KwaZulu-Natal’s Durban Stars lodged an official complaint with Safa about Roses United. They claimed the Free State team, a football club that defeated them 1-0, should not have been in the competition as they had qualified through improper means.

For years, clubs have accused Safa of overlooking the Semenya Commission’s recommendations to root out corruption and bribery in the Vodacom League. - The Star

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