News South Africa

Arrests may 'shake SA football to its core', Hawks say

According to a Sowetan report quoted in Sport24, the Hawks are poised to arrest several prominent soccer officials in connection with the alleged R8-million match-fixing scam involving Bafana Bafana game.

A special Hawks team and international law enforcement agencies are sifting through documents recently seized in raids on offices and homes of several South Africa's football association (SAFA) officials, and on the offices of foreign football associations.

Hawks spokesman Paul Ramaloko said the arrests will "shake South African football to its core." He added the Hawks had been investigating the case since early this year, but a complaint of corruption was laid only this week and a criminal investigation was officially opened only on Wednesday - in the wake of a FIFA report into a match-fixing scandal. This follows the suspension of SAFA president Kirsten Nematandani and four other leading officials who have been relieved of duty for their role in the fixing of four friendlies South Africa played ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, Sport24 reports.

Read the full article on www.sport24.co.za.

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