Safa taking legal route against Sunday newspaper

The country's football governing body said it categorically refutes claims made by the Sunday Independent on the article published on Sunday, May 31.

"It passes inferences as fact in a way that is disingenuous and misleading to the public. Safa is currently seeking legal action for the misrepresentations," said the football association in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The Sunday Independent published the story with the headline: "Danny: Yes, we paid R120m," "Newly-elected Nelson Mandela Bay executive mayor and South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan has confirmed that the 2010 Local Organising Committee (LOC) paid $10 million (now about R120m) after South Africa won the bid to host".

However, Safa said the story implied that the 2010 Local Organising Committee (LOC) paid $10m to the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football.

Jordaan said: "The statement attributed to me in this article and subsequent conjectures are simply put, factually incorrect.

"We paid no one as implied by the article. As CEO, of the 2010 Organising Committee, I had no mandate to pay out an amount above R1m".

According to Safa, the story further made damaging inferences that the aforementioned amount was a bribe paid by South Africa: "Instead the money was deducted directly from a payment FIFA made to South Africa to help finance the hosting of the tournament, thereby concealing the alleged bribe".