BY THEMBA ZWANE
MBABANE– What initially appeared to be isolated disciplinary cases involving match officials is increasingly pointing to a deeper integrity crisis within Eswatini football after a second senior referee was suspended for match manipulation in less than a week.
The Eswatini Football Association (EFA) Referees Committee has imposed a two-year ban on veteran referee Vusani Dlamini following an investigation into allegations of match manipulation linked to a Mula Sport tournament fixture played last month.
Dlamini’s suspension follows closely on the heels of the five-year ban handed to fellow senior referee Mbongeni Myeni, raising serious questions about the extent of corruption and attempted influence involving match officials in local football.
Documents seen by this publication reveal that Dlamini was found guilty of violating the Referees Code of Conduct and Integrity after failing to report an alleged attempt to influence the outcome of a match between Pigg’s Peak Professionals and Madlenya at Killarney Sports Ground on May 16.
According to the charge sheet, Dlamini participated in a conference call on May 15 involving a fellow referee and a Pigg’s Peak Professionals official. During the conversation, the club representative allegedly requested assistance to help the team secure victory in the fixture.
Investigators concluded that while Dlamini may not have directly manipulated the match, his failure to immediately report the approach constituted a serious breach of integrity regulations.
“The Eswatini Football Association, through the Referees Committee, has found that you have violated the Referees Code of Conduct and Integrity,” reads part of the suspension letter.
The letter further states that Dlamini neglected or failed to report the conference call and the request made by a club official to “do them a favour to win the game”, thereby violating Articles 18, 19 and 20 of the Referees Policy.
As a result, Dlamini has been suspended from officiating in all EFA-sanctioned competitions from June 19, 2026 until June 19, 2028.
The case has intensified scrutiny on the relationship between clubs and match officials, particularly regarding how often referees may be subjected to improper approaches before matches.
Sources familiar with integrity investigations within football circles have indicated that authorities are increasingly concerned not only with proven match-fixing incidents but also with failures to report attempted interference. Such omissions are viewed as enabling an environment where manipulation can thrive undetected.
The latest suspension bears striking similarities to the case involving Myeni, whose five-year ban was announced days earlier. While details surrounding the two investigations differ, both cases stem from allegations of compromised integrity and have emerged from a broader anti-corruption campaign being spearheaded by the Referees Committee.
The consecutive sanctions have exposed vulnerabilities within the country’s refereeing structures and raised concerns about whether the suspensions represent isolated incidents or symptoms of a wider problem.
With two senior referees now removed from the game within days of each other, attention is shifting toward whether further investigations are underway and how deeply attempts to influence match outcomes may have penetrated Eswatini football.
For now, the suspensions send a clear message that football authorities are prepared to pursue even high-profile officials in their effort to protect the credibility of the sport. The larger question, however, is whether these cases represent the end of the scandal—or merely the beginning of a much wider clean-up operation.
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(Courtesy Pic)
