Safa president Jordaan will not step aside

South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan has no plans to step down, despite being arrested on Wednesday on charges of fraud and theft.

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Jordaan, along with Safa Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Gronie Hluyo and businessman Trevor Neethling, appeared in the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court. Each were granted R20 000 in bail.

Jordaan pleads not guilty

Jordaan, Hluyo an Neethling have all pleaded not guilty.

The charges concern R1.3 million of Safa money that the trio are accused of using in a personal capacity. This includes allegedly hiring a PR firm to help with Jordaan’s reputation, after he was accused of rape buy former ANC MP Jennifer Ferguson.

“That is a political statement,” Safa vice-president Bennet Bailey told reporters on Thursday after he was asked if Jordaan would be told to step aside.

“In political parties, especially in the ruling party, that is the policy of that party. At SAFA, there is no such thing. You are not guilty until you are proven guilty. And that is our official position to this.” 

This is similar to the stance that Safa took when Ferguson opened a rape case against Jordaan in March 2018.

The association called a press briefing where Safa bizarrely gave a presentation on all they had done for women’s football.

Executive committee member Poobalan Govindasamy even went as far as questioning the motive for Ferguson’s accusation.

“This allegation … comes after 25 or 26 years from a women that did not want to press any charges‚ and decided that she wanted some kind of restorative justice in some other forum,” said Govindasamy.

“But living in Sweden‚ and not in South Africa‚ and making these stories.

“One has to ask – what is the motive behind that?”

‘There are other survivors of Mr Jordaan’s sexual misconduct’

Ferguson mentioned the questioning of her motives in an interview with News 24 in April 2018.

‘When I lay a charge, I am accused of having ‘deeply suspect’ motives,’ she said.

“I have consistently offered Mr Jordaan the opportunity to engage with me in a mediative process outside of formal legal action.

“My intent has been to settle this matter outside of the long and withdrawn processes of legal prosecution in which both parties will be left with injuries. Even as a victim of rape, I have not wished to dehumanise, neither seek monetary reward from Mr Jordaan.”

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“I have decided to pursue this, not just for myself, but for every victim of abuse in this country. There are also other survivors of Mr Jordaan’s sexual misconduct, who will be standing beside me.

In the end the National Prosecuting Authority decided not to pursue a rape case against Jordaan.