Bafana Bafana unable to shake off match-fixing stigma

It would seem that Bafana Bafana cannot steer clear of the stigma of match-fixing. This time, it is referee Joseph Odartei Lamptey who has been implicated and banned for life by Fifa after being found guilty of influencing the result of a World Cup qualifying match.

He was found guilty of breaching the rule relating to “unlawfully influencing match results”.

The match in question was last November’s 2-1 World Cup 2018 qualifying win over Senegal in Polokwane – “the penalty which never was” converted by Thulani Serero.

It is not the first time this country has been involved. Three former South African Football Association officials were banned from the sport in 2016, in connection with international friendlies played by the national side in 2010.

Former Safa chief executive Leslie Sedibe was fined and banned for five years by Fifa’s ethics committee; Steve Goddard and Adeel Carelse, both former heads of Safa’s refereeing department, were each banned for two years.

The cases were linked to that of the former Safa executive member and head of referees Lindile Kika, who was banned for six years. Fifa said Sedibe, Goddard and Carelse had all infringed ethics rules concerning general rules of conduct, loyalty and disclosure, cooperation and reporting.

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