Mogodi challenges SAFA ban

Johannesburg - A defiant Phil Mogodi president of the Soweto Local Football Association (SLFA) has challenged the South African Football Association (SAFA) to release all the charges they levelled against him and not just selective charges after he was suspended from football for the next five years.

The SAFA National Disciplinary Committee suspended Mogodi for five years while two other officials from the same organisation - Peter Thuntsane and Shadrack Hlophe - were found guilty of gross misconduct and for bringing SAFA into disrepute. The trio were suspended for three years from all football activities with Mogodi’s sanctions running concurrently.

In handing down judgement, the SAFA Disciplinary Committee acknowledged the trio’s contribution to the development of football, but at the same time viewed their action in a very serious light for having led teams to march and gather illegally at the house of the general secretary of SAFA Johannesburg Collin Jones.

“I faced eight charges,” said Mogodi. “Now why are they only finding me guilty on one charge only? “Why are they not releasing the seven other charges? And as for the charge of allegedly leading teams to the office of Jones, I was not there. I was actually phoned by Jones and arrived there to investigate why the clubs had gathered there. But anyway, please contact my legal representatives and they will give you the whole story.

The SAFA DC findings read in part: “The loss of such resourceful persons from football is regrettable. However, it is important to balance the interest of society and the offence for which a person has been charged.

“We find that their conduct was serious and warrants censure. We also find it appropriate to suspend all three respondents from all football activities under the auspices of SAFA for a period of three years, with immediate effect.”

SAFA president Kirsten Nematandani said all members of the Association are equal under the SAFA constitution. “As the custodian of the SAFA constitution I’m duty bound to ensure that all of us comply with our statutes,” said Nematandani.

“No one is bigger than football, and we have committed ourselves to rid our game of any distractions coming from all levels of our structures. We believe in good governance and we urge our members to use our statutes and internal processes in pursuing or challenging matters affecting the Association.

“Protest marches and interruptions of matches are behaviours that are foreign to football, and in particular organised football as defined by our constitution and the FIFA statutes,” said Nematandani.