A South African court has issued an attachment order compelling FIFA to hand over documentation relating to its decision to sanction Leslie Sedibe in relation to three friendly matches played by South Africa ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which an investigation found had been fixed. The former CEO of the South African Football Association (SAFA) launched the application in order to force a review of FIFA’s 2016 decision to sanction him with a five year ban. 

It is understood that the order means that Sedibe can bring an application in South Africa for a court to review FIFA’s decision. It is likely that FIFA would contest any such application, as Article 59 Paragraph 2 of the FIFA Statutes prevents recourse to a court of law. ‘As this legal matter is ongoing, please understand we have no comment at this stage’, wrote a FIFA spokesperson in an email. Sedibe has also launched a separate action seeking US$5 million in damages from FIFA for defamation.

The South African World Cup warm-up games are believed to have been manipulated by referees working for a sports betting syndicate controlled by Wilson Raj Perumal and associate ‘Dan’ Tan Seet Eng. It is understood that Perumal’s agency, Football 4 U International, had been involved in the organisation of some of the games.

In an interview with Al Jazeera in a programme called ‘Killing the Ball’ broadcast on 19 February, Perumal said that he had played a part in the qualification of five of the 32 teams that took part in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He explained that Football 4 U International had been set up in 2009 to fix international friendly games for illegal bookmakers, and that he had fixed qualifying games for the 2010 World Cup.