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FOOTBALL match-fixing mastermind Wilson Raj Perumal this week lifted the lid on the Asiagate scam and other match-fixing shenanigans around the world in an exclusive interview with global news giant Cable News Network (CNN) virtually confirming our fears that the beautiful game is under threat from betting syndicates.

In his revealing expose, the Singaporean national, who claims to have rigged the results of up to 100 matches over a 20-year period, boasting of a 70-80 percent success rate, explained in graphic detail how he fixed matches in different parts of the world including Zimbabwe and in the process revealed the extent of the vice which is threatening to blight the integrity of a game idolised and followed by millions of people all over the world. His candid remarks are telling and should alarm authorities at Fifa as to the lengths these syndicates are willing to go to manipulate matches for their selfish ends.

The interview shone a light on an important aspect of the game of football and why Fifa should come up with measures to protect the integrity of the sport which has become a billion dollar business. Cricket is another sport reeling from the scourge of betting syndicates with international players targeted for manipulation by fixers who tempt them with large sums of money to throw matches. As in football, this is prevalent in Asia, particularly India and Pakistan. That Perumal hails from the Far East is no surprise because the region is a haven for match-fixing and Fifa should ensure that they target countries in that part of the globe as a starting point for their investigations.

We are glad that Perumal is assisting the Balkan states to weed out the scourge in Europe and we would welcome his “expertise” in eliminating match-fixing in Africa where he has previously operated. In his own words, Africa was a piece of cake to work in because of the poverty and willingness of football authorities to “cooperate”.

For instance, in the run up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Perumal, through his company Football 4 U International, managed to convince the South African Football Association to allow him to arrange referees for the warm up matches. One of the referees handpicked by Perumal’s company to officiate these matches was Ibrahim Chaibou from Niger. According to Perumal, the referee’s first match fix was an international friendly between South Africa and Guatemala in May 2010 — one of several warm-up matches played ahead of the 2010 World Cup which the Rainbow Nation hosted.

“He was the best, he was the best, but not from Fifa’s point of view,” Perumal told CNN. Chaibou, whom he described as “very bold,” became one of his favourite match officials. Watching highlights of the game on You Tube, Perumal gave a running commentary on the major incidents.

“It’s crazy,” Perumal says as Chaibou awards South Africa a penalty kick. The quality of the footage is poor, but the fixer knows what happened.

“This is not a penalty. The offence took place outside the box,” he said.

The man from Niger is allegedly at it again in the second half, this time awarding Guatemala a penalty for a handball. Replays show the ball striking a South African player’s chest. Chaibou awarded three penalties in all during the match and, according to Perumal, fulfilled his task of overseeing a high-scoring fixture. The game finished 5-0 to South Africa.

“We paid him very good money,” Perumal said. He said getting Chaibou onto the pitch was the result of an elaborate scheme where the match-fixer used his now-defunct company to target Safa.

“I had this idea to influence the warm-up games without the knowledge of the association concerned.   So I remember writing a formal letter to the association requesting that my company ‘Football 4 U’ supply referees from Africa at our expense,” Perumal explained.

Supplying referees in this way is a breach of Fifa rules, but Perumal’s idea was accepted. In another controversial claim, the Singaporean said he “lifted” Nigeria and Honduras to the 2010 World Cup by fixing their qualifiers. Zimbabwe’s much publicised scandal Asiagate is the stuff of legends because of the brazen nature of the match-fixing.

Perumal famously said of his relationship with Zifa, “We were like two hands prepared to clap”, describing how the association then led by Asiagate mastermind Henrietta Rushwaya fixed Warriors matches in the Far East. That sad chapter of Zimbabwean football almost destroyed the game in the country with the careers of several footballers virtually ruined while the integrity of the game suffered irreparable harm.

The Warriors plummeted on the Fifa rankings as a result of losing with outlandish scores in foreign lands and the image of football remained in tatters. The danger with match-fixing is that fans walk away, sponsors walk away and the game remains with nothing. Going forward we need to get back to basics and rebuild the Warriors with players with no links to Asiagate. Our game needs serious cleansing of the match-fixing odour.