Mbalula sings the same tune; slams FIFA
South Africa’s Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula maintained the innocence of the South African government with regard to an alleged $10 million bribe paid to a Fifa official to secure the rights to host the 2010 World Cup in a media briefing on Thursday.
In a media briefing on Thursday to address a Fifa restitution claim in the US in which it openly accuses South Africa of paying a $10 million bribe to secure votes for the 2010 World Cup, Mbalula took aim at football’s world governing body, saying both the FBI indictment in the US and Fifa’s investigations were “loaded by explosive contradictions”.
“For an example, how is it possible that FIFA being the subject of FBI investigation becomes miraculously a victim and pretends that it is no longer FIFA? The blame is now transferred to other structures and FIFA exonerates its own governing structures that took the decisions and that had overseen the implementation thereof,” said Mbalula.
“The failure of football’s world governing body to regulate its own officials, as it has indicated in its press release, cannot be placed at the doorstep of South Africa and its people.”
In Fifa’s claim to seek restitution from the $190 million forfeited by 39 people and two companies who stand to be charged, it said its former executive committee member Jack Warner’s son Daryan and others “engineered a $10 million payoff in exchange for executive committee votes regarding where the 2010 FIFA World Cup would be hosted”.
Mbalula maintained the South African government’s position that it legitimately paid the $10 million to benefit the African Diaspora Legacy Programme.
“The government will not apologise for this progressive stance to the African Diaspora and for including the Diaspora in the pride and honour of hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup. To infer or insinuate anything else, including diminishing such an important part of the African continent’s history as an elaborate ruse to issue a bribe, is despicable,” the minister said.
“The South African government considers it an insult to reduce one of its hallmark programmes that recognised the struggles and achievements of African people around the world to a mere caricature and incubator for bribery.”
Mbalula said government would request a meeting with newly elected Fifa President Gianni Infantino to clarify all questions related to the payment.