On Wednesday, sports minister Fikile Mbalula said the $10 million was an "above board" payment to promote football among the African diaspora in the Caribbean. "It is a preliminary investigation, we are just looking at the matter that they have given us," Hangwani Mulaudzi, spokesman for the Hawks said.įF Plus, a small right-wing Afrikaans party, said it hoped the police would liaise with US investigators who allege a $10 million bribe was paid to secure the 2010 World Cup.Īccusations of bribery to win the World Cup have triggered an angry response from officials in South Africa, where the event is remembered as a moment of national pride.
FIFA 10 HENRY PLUS
"We have received documents from Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), a political party in South Africa, concerning the FIFA issues, and we have opened an inquiry file so that we investigate contents of the documents," the Hawks special crimes unit said in a statement. The South African government and national football association strenuously denied bribes were paid to secure the right to host the tournament. South African police said they were looking into corruption claims surrounding the 2010 World Cup after a request from an opposition party, but stressed no formal investigation had been launched.
South African police probe bribery claims Henry, then with Barcelona, backed Ireland's calls for a replay and declared himself "extremely sorry", but rejected the accusation he was a cheat.įrance went on to endure a disastrous World Cup, crashing out in the group phase after the players went on strike in protest at striker Nicolas Anelka's exclusion from the squad for clashing with coach Raymond Domenech. The FAI and the Irish government unsuccessfully petitioned world governing body FIFA for the game to be replayed or for Ireland to be admitted to the World Cup in South Africa as a '33rd team'. Henry was derided as a cheat in the aftermath of the match at the Stade de France, which ended in a 1-1 draw that saw France win 2-1 on aggregate. "That day when I went in, and I told him how I felt about him, there were some expletives used." "The way Blatter behaved, if you remember on stage, having a snigger and having a laugh at us." he said. Subscribe to get ABC News delivered to your email, including alerts on major breaking stories, daily wraps of the top issues and analysis and the latest stories on topics that interest you. In a paid political address entitled "The gloves are off" broadcast in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday (AEST), Warner said he feared for his life, but would reveal everything he knew.ĭelaney said Blatter's behaviour at the Soccerex football conference in Johannesburg 11 days after the match had hardened his resolve over the matter of compensation. Because of this, and in view of the FAI's financial situation, FIFA decided to write off the loan as per 31 December 2014."įrance qualified for the 2010 World Cup at Ireland's expense after Henry blatantly handled the ball as he set up William Gallas for the decisive goal in a play-off match in Paris in November 2009.ĭelaney's claim comes amid a corruption scandal engulfing FIFA that has seen president Sepp Blatter announce his resignation and former executive committee member Chuck Blazer admit to paying bribes.Īnd former vice president Jack Warner vowed to tell investigators all he knows about corruption within the sport's governing body. "The terms agreed between FIFA and the FAI were that the loan would be reimbursed if Ireland qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
At the same time, UEFA also granted the FAI funds for the same stadium. "FIFA granted FAI a loan of $US5 million for the construction of a stadium in Ireland. It was a payment to the association to not proceed with a legal case."įIFA later issued a statement explaining: "While the referee's decision is final, and the FAI ultimately accepted it as such, in January 2010 FIFA entered into an agreement with FAI in order to put an end to any claims against FIFA. That was a Thursday and on Monday, the agreement was all signed and all done. "We felt we had a legal case against FIFA because of how the World Cup play-off hadn't worked out for us with the Henry handball," Delaney said. FIFA ha s confirmed it made a $US5 million ($7.3 million) payment to the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) after French player Thierry Henry's handball stopped Ireland qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.ĭetails of the deal first emerged in an interview FAI chief executive John Delaney gave to RTE Radio 1 on Thursday (local time).
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