Sports / Local
Benjani - Rushwaya link, Zifa need explanation
05 Jun 2012 at 09:12hrs | Views
ZIFA have told Benjani Mwaruwari to explain the involvement of former chief executive, Henrietta Rushwaya, in his testimonial match.
The former Warriors captain ended his international career with a high profile match at the National Sports Stadium last week with some of Africa's best present and past footballers trooping into Harare to help him raise funds for his charitable foundation.
But Zifa have taken exception to the involvement of Rushwaya who was sacked following allegations of masterminding a match-fixing scandal in which Warriors teams were said to have been paid to lose games by an Asian betting syndicate.
"We are asking Benji to write to us explaining why he used those implicated in the Asiagate scandal to organise his match," current Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze told The Standard.
"We made it clear that those implicated must not be involved. Even though he has retired from international football, he remains a Zimbabwean and our statutes together with those of Fifa will always catch up with him."
But Rushwaya hit back, saying it was ridiculous to expect her to be excluded from what was effectively her idea.
"Was I ever involved in Benjani's testimonial match? I was not involved because saying that is an understatement," she said.
"The event was my brainchild, a project that I had been working on for the past three years. So how can I be involved in something that I had come up with?
Benji has the legs to play football but I had the brains to come up with the concept of the testimonial."
Rushwaya, who had always denied the so-called Asiagate allegations, was cleared on charges of corruption, bribery and fraud linked to the scandal by a Harare magistrate's court last month.
But a committee established by Zifa is still investigating several players and officials suspended from any involvement with the Warriors over the scandal.
Meanwhile The Standard also reported that Zifa are demanding US$85 000 from Benjani as match levies for the testimonial which is said to have made a net loss of US$140,287.
The association has reportedly given Mwaruwari and his team until Friday to pay up.
The former Warriors captain ended his international career with a high profile match at the National Sports Stadium last week with some of Africa's best present and past footballers trooping into Harare to help him raise funds for his charitable foundation.
But Zifa have taken exception to the involvement of Rushwaya who was sacked following allegations of masterminding a match-fixing scandal in which Warriors teams were said to have been paid to lose games by an Asian betting syndicate.
"We are asking Benji to write to us explaining why he used those implicated in the Asiagate scandal to organise his match," current Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze told The Standard.
"We made it clear that those implicated must not be involved. Even though he has retired from international football, he remains a Zimbabwean and our statutes together with those of Fifa will always catch up with him."
But Rushwaya hit back, saying it was ridiculous to expect her to be excluded from what was effectively her idea.
"Was I ever involved in Benjani's testimonial match? I was not involved because saying that is an understatement," she said.
"The event was my brainchild, a project that I had been working on for the past three years. So how can I be involved in something that I had come up with?
Benji has the legs to play football but I had the brains to come up with the concept of the testimonial."
Rushwaya, who had always denied the so-called Asiagate allegations, was cleared on charges of corruption, bribery and fraud linked to the scandal by a Harare magistrate's court last month.
But a committee established by Zifa is still investigating several players and officials suspended from any involvement with the Warriors over the scandal.
Meanwhile The Standard also reported that Zifa are demanding US$85 000 from Benjani as match levies for the testimonial which is said to have made a net loss of US$140,287.
The association has reportedly given Mwaruwari and his team until Friday to pay up.
Source - standard
