Corruption rife in SA soccer claims Lovegrove

By George Byron

MILLIONAIRE soccer boss Tony Lovegrove has hit out at corruption which he claims is rife in South African soccer with referees and linesmen openly cheating to influence the outcome of crucial professional league matches.
Bay Stars owner Lovegrove, whose team narrowly missed out on the chance to represent Nelson Mandela Bay in the First Division next season, came out firing, saying the corruption needed to be exposed for the good of the game.
In an exclusive interview with Weekend Post,  Lovegrove  claimed that:

* Support staff and players are “bombarded” with offers to throw matches;

* Protesting questionable decisions will ensure match officials will be even more biased;

* There is no auditing of referees’ performances by top-level South African Football Association (Safa) officials;

* Clubs often field “illegal” players [a player who is not registered with the league, for example]; and

* Referees turn a blind eye to poor field conditions in lower leagues, if it happens to be the referee’s “preferred” team’s home ground

Lovegrove is not alone in his concern about the effects of widespread corruption in the sport with high-ranking Safa official Boya Chetty confirming  that a top-level investigation into bribery and corruption was currently  under way.
“I am a member of Safa’s protocol and security committee and we are currently investigating bribery and corruption at all levels of South African soccer,” Chetty said.
“Our findings will be released in due course.”
Lovegrove and  fellow Stars owner Yusuf Adams ploughed R3.2-million into their team last season which played in the Vodacom League.
However Lovegrove believed  the only reason the team  failed to be  promoted was because the “referees are all powerful”.
Citing the example of Stars having no fewer than 13 goals disallowed during the season, he said:   “In the Vodacom League there was absolutely no consistency when it comes to refereeing.
“This makes winning games exceptionally difficult.  The interpretation by officials of the rules is inconsistent in itself and there is no auditing from senior officials at Safa.  This ultimately translates into each ref having absolute power to dictate the outcome of games.”
Lovegrove said players and support staff were also often approached with offers to take a bribe.
“Both our players and technical staff have come to me on occasions to highlight that they have been approached to influence a game.  The owners are very rarely approached in this league, but the support staff and players are bombarded with offers to throw games.”
Lovegrove said his club had approached the regional office of Safa with their complaints, but it had not helped to eradicate the problem.
“In spite of the regional office of Safa being very sympathetic, it unfortunately does not go further.”
Lovegrove said his club had on several occasions asked Safa to address important strategic matters at a higher level to combat this issue.
However Safa Eastern Cape provincial secretary Isaac Klaas said his organisation had never received any complaints regarding the conduct of referees from Bay Stars.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 14 2012. 

Slap in the face for local soccer talent

By Shaun Gillham

BAY Stars managing director and businessman Tony Lovegrove has slammed a move by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality – in particular Mayor Zonoxolo Wayile – to buy Premier Soccer League (PSL) team Maritzburg United as a slap in the face for local football development.
An angry Lovegrove said on Friday that politicians and officials “did not care about the great talent in their own back yard” and were demonstrating that they did not think locals were “good enough”.
Municipal spokesman Kupido Baron confirmed the initiative, which insiders told Weekend Post will cost the metro R30-million in relocation costs alone.
“I can confirm that the municipality is in the advanced stages of negotiations with Maritzburg United Football Club. This is towards maintaining the sustainability of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium,” Baron said.
According to a source close to the deal, Wayile instructed Nelson Mandela Bay Development Agency Pierre Voges to negotiate with Maritzburg United and that the deal had to be closed before May 18 or 19 due to a Safa deadline dictating the cut-off date by which clubs have to declare their home stadiums.
According to another source, the team might not even be permanently based in the region, but would simply be “rented for some PSL games”.
The new development comes as a massive blow to Bay Stars, which was created out of the former Bay Academy Football Club with extensive financial backing from local business and with the aim of representing the metro in the PSL within three years.
 Lovegrove believed a contract signing with Maritzburg was imminent.
He said Bay Stars was formed after Safa contacted local businessmen to assist in the former Bay Academy team. “We looked at the PSL model and we formed a team, which has full technical support, with the aim of getting it into the PSL in three years. We’ve done all the right things; put all the correct structures and support systems in place. We had an MOA [memorandum of agreement] with the mayor, who publicly supported the team and its aims, and we are on track to develop this team, which has great talent,” Lovegrove said.
Lovegrove questioned why tens of millions would potentially be spent on importing a franchise when they had battled to get R4-million worth of repairs done to the team’s home ground, the Wolfson Stadium.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday May 12, 2012.

Bay Stars coach confident ahead of tonight’s clash

BAY Stars coach Graham Harrison is confident his team will perform well tonight (Friday, October 14) after last weekend’s 2 – 1 victory over Matta Milan.

The local football outfit carrying the aspiration of Nelson Mandela Bay supporters to compete in the Premier Soccer League in a few years’ time will take on East London’s OR Tambo at the Gelvandale Stadium at 7pm.

“We are confident we can beat them and take three points from the match. We are looking forward to the game and I am sure we are up for the challenge,” Harrison said, adding a few changes could be on the cards when the team runs onto the pitch.

Managing director Tony Lovegrove said no entry fee would again be charged for the game in the spirit of reviving “Football Fridays”.

The team will play an away game against Kokstad Liverpool next Friday.