Police arrested two directors of the Bush Bucks soccer club in East London on Thursday night in connection with alleged match fixing.
The men, 45 and 40, were arrested at the club’s offices on Thursday afternoon by a team of about 10 policemen from Johannesburg. They were then taken to the Fleet Street police station and charged with corruption.
The men’s lawyer, Lindile Nompozolo, said he expected the men to be released on bail.
”I don’t see a reason why they should be detained — they are well-known people, there’s nowhere they can run.”
National police spokesperson Director Sally de Beer confirmed on Thursday that two club directors were arrested in the Eastern Cape and one in Gauteng by police in Operation Dribble on match-fixing allegations.
”All I can say is that all are club directors in the first division,” she said.
”They are facing charges under the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Act.”
Ten referees were arrested last week and were released after each paying R1 000 bail.
According to investigators, one of the directors was filmed bribing a referee at one of his club’s matches in East London.
Meanwhile, an Eastern Cape referee who reportedly said he was receiving death threats, has allegedly become a police informant. The referee, who was also implicated in the match fixing scandal, was apparently supplying information to police about bribes that were received by other referees. – Sapa