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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA has made a sensational about-turn on its stated Asiagate position and now says all those accused of involvement would be dealt with.

Zifa president Phillip Chiyangwa “lifted” all Asiagate suspensions in January bringing some relief to more than 80 players and officials that had been handed different sanctions, which were, however, never endorsed by Fifa.

Itai Ndudzo, Zifa legal advisor, dropped the bombshell on Friday saying all those involved have every reason to fear because “we will be knocking on their doors very soon”.

He said the case was never closed and no one was pardoned as insinuated.

“All Zifa president Chiyangwa did was to acknowledge that the issue was not handled properly, hence Fifa did not endorse those sanctions. The investigations were done properly, but the execution of sanctions was not. The Justice Ibrahim committee did the investigations and then went on to impose sanctions,” said Ndudzo.

He said the correct thing was for the investigations committee to have then handed over the case to the judicial arms of Zifa for the sanctions to be recognised by Fifa.

“Fifa couldn’t endorse the sanctions because they did not come from the judicial bodies of Zifa. They were not properly imposed which is what we want to do now. No one was acquitted and anyone who falls within the jurisdiction of the association must know that we are going after them, make no mistake about that,” Ndudzo said.

The Asiagate scandal, which was first reported by Chronicle Sport in 2004 and recurred between 2007 and 2009, is considered the darkest episode in Zimbabwean football.