McKenzie distances himself from Safa saga after calls for Jordaan to step down

'Fifa rules don't permit government interference' says sport minister

Sport, art, and culture minister Gayton McKenzie has distanced himself from calls for South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan to step down amid fraud and theft charges totalling R1.3m.

Jordaan, along with Safa CFO Gronie Hluyo and businessman Trevor Neethling, appeared in the Palm Ridge magistrate's court on Wednesday, securing R20,000 bail each.

Hluyo and Neethling were ordered to surrender their passports to the investigating officer, while Jordaan was allowed to keep his for duties that may require him to travel beyond South Africa's borders.

“We will meet Safa upon their return next week, not to interfere but to understand how this latest development will affect soccer. Fifa rules don't permit government interference,” McKenzie said.

He said attention should rather be focused on the upcoming Bafana Bafana matches against Uganda on Friday and South Sudan on Tuesday.

“The next five days are the most important days for Bafana in regards to qualification.”

McKenzie had previously expressed scepticism regarding Jordaan's leadership, questioning Bafana Bafana's prospects under his guidance for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualification.

“I don’t have full confidence. I’ve got full confidence in the rugby at the moment because full confidence doesn’t come with talk, it comes with results. I’ve got full confidence in the rugby because the results are there to see.”

In contrast, the EFF welcomed Jordaan's arrest, calling for a thorough investigation.

“The EFF calls for a thorough and independent probe into the finances of Safa and how they were used during the tenure of Danny Jordaan as president.

“There must be specific focus on where the finances of Safa have been directed under his tenure, including procurement and payments of service providers which are most likely linked to the ANC and benefited the ANC as an organisation,” said EFF spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys.

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