The Warriors, who suffered an early exit from the 2019
AFCON finals here on Sunday, are in the eye of a match-fixing storm, amid
reports that their 4-0 loss to the Democratic Republic of Congo was not
genuine.
Confederation of African Football (CAF) officials were not
responding to the allegations yesterday.
The reports surfaced in the Madagascan media yesterday,
claiming DRC could be thrown out of the finals for attempting to influence the
outcome of their Group A showdown against the Warriors on Sunday.
The report, quoting unnamed sources, claimed CAF leaders
were seized with the matter and suggested that wealthy Congolese businessman
and politician Moise Katumbi, the multi-millionaire owner of five-time African
champions TP Mazembe, could have been involved in the plot to sway Zimbabwe
goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze to underperform in the big match and boost the cause
of the Central Africans.
The media outlet in Madagascar claimed its sources had
revealed the CAF leadership were considering throwing the Congolese out of the
finals, and banning the country from taking part in the tournament for three
years, because of attempts to try and influence the result against Zimbabwe.
The report claimed that Katumbi was seen at the hotel where
the Warriors were staying, Le Meredien, which also housed the Congolese as per
the draw for the accommodation that was done by CAF prior to the tournament,
apparently trying to put his plans into motion.
It also claimed that it was unlikely the Congolese would be
allowed to play their Round of 16 match against Madagascar on Sunday and could
either be replaced by the Warriors, who would be handed the match on a 3-0
scoreline, or the Indian Ocean islanders could be handed a walk-over into the
quarter-finals.
However, a 3-0 scoreline for the Warriors, if it came to
that, would mean that they play Senegal, and not Madagascar, given they would
have finished second in the group. The Herald sent questions to CAF
communications director Nathalie Rabe, who is also from Madagascar, CAF media
manager Mohamed Thabet, CAF media manager/English editor Kofi Adae and the
organisation’s internal communications chief Noha Nassif, to try and establish
if there was any truth in the report, but drew blanks from all of them.
CAF president Ahmad Ahmad is also from Madagascar. Repeated efforts to get a comment from the Congolese media
management last night also drew blanks.
The report in the Madagascar media said a ‘’Congolese
leader (Katumbi) reportedly coerced the Zimbabwean goalkeeper to let the DRC
score the four goals against Zimbabwe,’’ describing the result of the match as
a ‘’crazy outcome.’’
There were also claims in that report, that ‘’a large sum
of money was supposed to be transferred into the bank of the Zimbabwean
goalkeeper,’’ but the transaction was not completed after an Egyptian bank
raised the red flag and reportedly declined to handle the issue.
‘’From the revelations of this case yesterday morning, the
CAF, according to a reliable source, was seized with the matter and an
emergency inquest had been opened with the DRC risking a suspension of, at
least, three years from AFCON and a heavy fine,” reads the report.
‘’In case of suspension, it was not clear who will face
Madagascar, a Zimbabwe triumph (in the game against DRC) was expected because
of the way they had fought gallantly in the 0-1 defeat to Egypt in the AFCON
opening match and the 1-1 draw against Uganda, while the DRC had conceded four
goals, without scoring, in their two matches.
‘’For the moment, let’s keep our arms crossed and wait for
the result of the CAF emergency committee, an emergency investigation is taking
place and, hopefully, it will lead to some good news for Barea (the nickname
for the Madagascar national team) and it’s not some fake news for the
country.’’
The Congolese won the match against Zimbabwe 4-0 at the
June 30 Stadium, in a result that shocked the continent given the way the
Warriors had impressed in their first two matches against hosts Egypt and
Uganda.
Stand-in Zimbabwe goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze, playing only
because regular first-choice George Chigova pulled out of the match after
sustaining an injury during warm-up, had a horror show between the posts,
gifting the Congolese the opener in the fourth minute, conceding a penalty and
then fumbling a tame shot for the fourth goal.
The Congolese are now set to meet Madagascar in a Round of
16 match in Alexandria on Sunday after the Indian Ocean islanders, making a
debut at this tournament, shocked the world by topping Group A following a
sensational 2-0 win over the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
The team finishing third in Group A in the event qualified
as one of the best four third-placed teams among the six groups, was also drawn
to face the team that finishes top of Group A and after all the results had
been factored in, a 1-0 win for the Congolese in that final match would have
taken them to a knockout battle against Madagascar.
A 1-0 victory for Zimbabwe in that match would have
automatically taken the Warriors into the knockout stages, and a clash against
Senegal here tomorrow, given they would have ended second in their group with
Uganda, who lost 0-2 to Egypt in the final match, finishing third and taking on
Madagascar. Herald
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