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READ: Leslie Sedibe's full statement

Cape Town - Former SAFA CEO Leslie Sedibe, current CEO of local campaign 'Proudly South African', has released a statement in which he defends his innocence. 

Sedibe was banned from all football related activity for five years by FIFA on Monday following investigations into the possibilities of four Bafana Bafana warm-up matches being fixed prior to the 2010 Soccer World Cup. 

Sedibe was banned along with former SAFA referee officials Steve Goddard and Adeel Carelse, who were banned for two years each. 

Sedibe held an emergency press briefing on Monday afternoon in which he called for investigators to conduct an audit into the matter.

He says that he has co-operated with FIFA and SAFA ever since he was first made aware of the investigation in 2012, but that he has not been informed of the developments of the investigation by either organisation since then. 

Sedibe ends his statement by saying that a "a substantial injustice has been committed by FIFA and SAFA". 

Sedibe's PR team at Proudly South African also released a letter he received from SAFA's legal team in 2012 in which the organisation exercised a confidentiality clause in his contract. 

Sedibe had appeared on Metro FM journalist Robert Marawa's show where he discussed correspondence he had with current SAFA CEO Dennis Mumble.

That, according to SAFA's lawyers, was a breach of confidentiality and Sedibe was instructed to return any electronic or hard copy of any correspondence he had during his time at SAFA.

Sedibe's contract with SAFA was mutually terminated in January 2011.

Sedibe's team also released the letter, dated April 29 2010, that was addressed to then-SAFA president Kirsten Nematandani. 

The letter was received by Singapore-based company 'Football 4 U Int'l' and dealt with the 'referees exchange program' in which South African referees would take charge of matches in the middle-east, while the agency would "be pleased to assist SAFA in providing FIFA qualified referees" for friendlies in South Africa in May and June 2010.

READ: SEDIBE'S FULL STATEMENT AND HIS LETTER FROM SAFA

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