But this time to respond to Fifa itself now claiming South Africa did bribe disgraced former executives Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer, to secure their crucial votes to host the showpiece event.
That’s all part of Fifa’s submission to US authorities, which seeks to reclaim over $100 million from 41 individuals that face charges in the US.
“Bribes are like a ghost and it’s untouchable, you never find it.”
According to a Fifa statement in June last year, the $10 million was paid directly into the Diaspora Legacy Programme in the Caribbean and is seemingly the ghost that’s now returned to haunt South Africa.
This latest claim is one of a number of main lines of inquiry into Warner as he faces extradition to the US to face charges after he had accepted a bribe to vote for Morocco in the 1998 World Cup hosting race, won by France, a Fifa report said.
It remains to be seen what criminal actions could now be taken and which, if any, South Africans will be implicated.
Mbalula was emphatic that the law must take its course.
“A bribe is a criminal act that is not meant to be known by others. It’s an underground operation.”
Fifa said on Wednesday that members of its executive committee had in the past sold their votes in World Cup hosting contests.
“It is now apparent that multiple members of Fifa’s Executive Committee abused their positions and sold their votes on multiple occasions," it said in a legal document filed to a US court.
The global soccer body has applied to US authorities for tens of millions of dollars in damages from ex-officials indicted there for graft.
The very future of Fifa has been put in question by the graft scandal, with some demanding its abolition.
“It is now apparent that multiple members of Fifa’s Executive Committee abused their positions and sold their votes on multiple occasions," it said in a legal document filed to a US court.
The global soccer body has applied to US authorities for tens of millions of dollars in damages from ex-officials indicted there for graft.
The very future of Fifa has been put in question by the graft scandal, with some demanding its abolition.
