Match fixing referee released on bail

South African referee Clifford Malgas accused of match fixing has been bail by the Cape Town District Court.

Malgas, 26, faces charges of perjury and corruption.

He was arrested last Thursday at the school in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg, where he works as an administrator, and first appeared in the Protea Magistrate’s Court before his transfer, in custody, to Cape Town.

He allegedly “fixed” matches in the Vodacom Tournament in June 2011.

Earlier this year, former Bafana Bafana assistant coach Phil Setshedi, 57, was jailed for eight years for paying a police official, posing as the chief referee, R2,000 (£125) to manipulate the outcome of matches in the tournament.

Setshedi was arrested on June 8, 2011, after SAFA reported him to the police following representations to officials, in an alleged attempt to influence the outcome of a match.

Malgas was one of three witnesses to testify against Setshedi. It is alleged Malgas lied to the court under oath, which forms the basis for the perjury charge.

After Setshedi’s prosecution, Malgas and the two other referees who testified were suspended from the sport.

On the corruption charges, Malgas allegedly manipulated the outcome of a match during the 2011 second division play-offs in Cape Town.

Claims of lower-league corruption are common as clubs promoted to the top division bank at least R1,500,000 (£97,000) each month.