Whistleblowers under unwanted spotlight

Mqondisi Dube | Monday April 17, 2023 16:00

These have remained allegations and difficult to prove in the absence of solid evidence. It is something that will continue being whispered in the corridors without any firm action taken.

However, the referees’ committee must take the allegations seriously and make all attempts to get to the bottom of the matter. Teams train hard, fight relegation or genuinely compete for honours expecting nothing but fair treatment from match officials. They don’t expect the referee to steal the limelight with questionable decisions.

All that the teams deserve is fairness. News, particularly negative news travel faster than the speed of sound and Botswana will come into unwanted focus if allegations of bribing referees persist. Barcelona has been in the news for the wrong reasons amid allegations the Catalan club was in the habit of greasing the palms of match officials.

UEFA president, Aleksander Ceferin described Barcelona’s case as the most serious situation he has seen in sport. The time for sweeping issues under the carpet should be a thing of the past. If the Botswana Football League wants to be taken as a serious football entity or at least display some modicum of professionalism, they need to immediately launch an investigation into the allegations. It is only fair to be seen to be walking the talk rather than to only pay lip service in this case.

The First Division South recently issued a media statement dismissing claims its officials were being bought (for how much it is only one’s guess) to influence the outcome of matches. However, it was a lame statement as it only denied the existence of the corrupt practice, without any proof. Anyone can deny the existence of the malpractice, but the committee was supposed to go beyond that and reassure the public by at least pledging to get to the bottom of the matter (wherever the bottom is).

Otherwise merely dismissing the allegations, discourages ‘whistleblowers’ who know that their information will be swept under the carpet. Granted, it is difficult to prove payment exchanged hands, particularly that such transactions are done in a meticulous and discreet manner, at least that is the expectation. But in this day of advanced communication technology, there are some trails left behind which could be used as a springboard in the investigation. At the moment, there is nothing to be concluded, but perceptions are always dangerous. With or without any proof, the perception is that referees are being bought and they have been influencing the outcome of matches. Clubs must not buy success through purchasing referees as this only tilts the scales in favour of those with deep pockets and can afford to make the payments.

Let us suppose for a minute that buying referees was legal; how then do we expect clubs struggling to pay their players to have an extra budget to bribe match officials? It then becomes a game of the have’s and the have nots and leaves the playing ground uneven. The fact that allegations of buying match officials keep gaining traction, should be sufficient to warrant an investigation, or at least something resembling a probe. This is meant to win the trust and confidence, not only of sponsors, but of that fan who unfailingly leaves Gakutlo every match day and uses his hard earned P30 to watch his favourite team, only to learn that the result was influenced days before.