Leading football administrator denies rape allegations

01 Novembre 2017

Cape Town, South Africa, November 1 (Infosplusgabon) - South African Football Association President, Danny Jordaan, on Wednesday denied the explosive rape allegations that were made against him late last month.

As previously reported by Infosplusgabon, singer and politician Jennifer Ferguson claimed the top football official raped her in a hotel room in Port Elizabeth 24 years ago. Ferguson who now lives in Sweden made the allegations in a Facebook post.

She said she had met Jordaan at a hotel in 1993 after she had performed at a sports dinner. “He overpowered me and painfully raped me. It must have been over in about 20 seconds although it felt like a lifetime. He left immediately without saying a word,” she wrote.

In a statement, Jordaan said he had delayed responding to the allegations because of the "scourge of gender-based violence" in South Africa and his "sensitivity towards the issue".

His attorney, Mamodupi Mohlala-Mulaudzi, said the allegations must be tested in a court of law.

"Whilst Jordaan supports public debate as an essential tool to highlight the issue of gender-based violence, in this case, there are two opposing versions that cannot be resolved in the media, or elsewhere, in substitution for a court of law," Mohlala-Mulaudzi said.

During a radio interview on Tuesday, Ferguson indicated that she would consider legal action.

It also emerged during the programme that two other women, who have not been identified, also claim Jordaan sexually assaulted them.

Jordaan found fame when he secured South Africa's successful 2010 FIFA World Cup bid, the first successful one for Africa.

He received a special presidential award from President Nelson Mandela in 1994 as well as the presidential sport achievement award from President Thabo Mbeki in 2001. He has served FIFA in numerous capacities.

He is also the former Mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, having served from May 2015 until August 2016.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/UYT/GABON 2017

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