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- Africa's football governing body has ordered SAFA and its president, Danny Jordaan, to submit a report showing that the association and Jordaan didn't violate CAF and FIFA's statutes.
- This comes after the Hawks raided SAFA House as part of an investigation into allegations that Jordaan spent over R1 million of the association's money for personal gain and without following proper procurement processes.
- CAF's statement has placed the spotlight on FIFA, who received a complaint in 2020 alleging abuse of power by Jordaan and violation of FIFA statutes but did nothing about it.
- For more sport news, go to the News24 Sport front page.
The walls seem to be closing in on the beleaguered Danny Jordaan with the continent's football governing body stepping into the fray following the Hawks' raid at the offices of the South African Football Association (SAFA).
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said they were "concerned" by the raid and asked SAFA to submit a report showing that it and Jordaan, the president of the association, have not breached CAF and FIFA's statutes and regulations.
CAF's decision follows the implementation of a search and seizure warrant by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Hawks, at SAFA House in Nasrec, Johannesburg, on 8 March in relation to a case they are investigating against Jordaan.
The case is looking into two contracts worth just over a R1 million that Jordaan allegedly authorised without following due process and were for his personal gain: the hiring of Badger Security Services to protect him before the 2018 elections and, a year before, appointing Grit Communications to handle the association's communications.
But those in the know of how that contract with the PR company panned out allege that their services were for Jordaan, who was facing rape accusations which led to a case being laid against him by former ANC member of parliament and musician Jennifer Ferguson.
SAFA slammed the Hawks raid, challenging the legality of their search and seizure warrant that saw them seize a laptop, external hard drives, a USB and documents.
CAF is the first football body to respond to the Hawks' actions.
It's a significant move by the Patrice Motsepe-led confederation, with Jordaan among those who led Motsepe's push for the CAF presidency.
The governing body said it was "concerned about the respect and image of football in South Africa" following the raid.
"CAF is looking into this matter based on and in accordance with the CAF and FIFA statutes and regulations and has requested SAFA to provide CAF with a report, indicating that SAFA and its president, Dr Danny Jordaan, at no stage and under no circumstances violated or breached the CAF and FIFA statutes and regulations," said CAF in a statement.
"Whilst the allegations made by the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit are serious, in line with international legal principles and jurisprudence, SAFA and Dr Danny Jordaan are presumed to be innocent until an appropriate judicial body concludes otherwise.
"CAF has also requested SAFA to provide it with any other information or facts which SAFA and Dr Danny Jordaan would like to bring to the attention of CAF."
READ | Complainant in Danny Jordaan criminal case calls for resignation: 'Step aside and clear your name'
News24 understands that SAFA has until Wednesday to furnish CAF with a report.
The statement from continent's governing body now puts the spotlight on FIFA, who were approached in 2020 with allegations that Jordaan breached their statutes.
Former SAFA vice-president William Mooka not only opened the criminal case that led to the raid, but he, along with former acting chief executive Gay Mokoena, also approached the FIFA Ethics Committee on 9 July 2020 alleging that there have been numerous violations of FIFA's code of ethics at SAFA under the leadership of Jordaan. They also accused the SAFA president of abusing his power in a 72-page complaint.
Mooka and Mokoena asked FIFA to place Jordaan on precautionary suspension while their allegations were investigated.
FIFA acknowledged receiving the complaint but stated the investigatory chamber may initiate preliminary investigations "at their own discretion and at any time".
The matter seemed to have died down, but it could come back to life following recent developments with eyes firmly fixed on CAF and FIFA to see how they will deal with the allegations levelled against the man who drove the first FIFA World Cup on African soil in 2010.
CAF’s intervention is notable because they and FIFA can act on the allegations levelled against Jordaan without waiting for the finalisation of a criminal case but through the investigation of their own ethics committees.
These committees can hand out varying sanctions of which the harshest punishment would be to ban Jordaan from football related activities if they find him guilty of violating the statutes as alleged by Mooka and Mokoena.
CAF's statement was released on Saturday, the same day that the SAFA national executive committee (NEC) met in Sandton.
"The NEC reaffirmed the steps taken by SAFA in respect to the search and seizure conducted by the Hawks at the association’s headquarters in Nasrec, in the south of Johannesburg, on Friday, 8 March 2024, and that their actions were unfortunate and a shame to our law enforcement agencies," SAFA said in a statement that claimed the NEC meeting was a success.
