Kenya international goalkeeper Patrick Matasi training at Kasarani Annex. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]
Football Kenya Federation has launched an official investigation into match fixing allegations against Kenyan international Patrick Matasi.
A video circulating on social media on Thursday shows what appears to be the goalkeeper negotiating with an unknown party about the outcome of a football match.
FKF, through a statement, promised to protect the player and club’s rights during the investigation process.
“FKF upholds the integrity of football and has launched an official investigation in collaboration with Fifa, CAF, and other relevant authorities. We reaffirm our zero-tolerance policy on match manipulation and are committed to safeguarding the credibility of our competitions,” FKF said in a statement.
Matasi, 37, has been a regular for national team Harambee Stars since his debut in 2017 and has made over 30 appearances.
He first played for Harambee Stars on March 23, 2017 against the Uganda Cranes in an international friendly in Machakos. He last played for Harambee Stars in the loss to Cameroon. Even then, some fans opined he was at fault for two goals conceded against the Indomitable Lions.
On several occasions while on club and international duty, he has been subject to criticism following incidents and errors that led to the opposition team scoring.
His latest string of errors for the national team was in October last year during the 4-1 defeat to Cameroon in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Qualifiers at the Japoma Stadium in Douala. A section of fans felt Matasi was at fault for two goals conceded against the Indomitable Lions in what was his last national team assignment.
Despite the uproar online, the details of the video, including when it was recorded, the identity of the person speaking, and even whether it has been manipulated, are still unclear.
FKF have also asked people who might have sound evidence about the investigation to help with the case.
“We encourage anyone with credible information to assist in this investigation. All reports will be handled with strict confidentiality,” added the federation.
Matasi recently joined FKF Premier League side Kakamega Homeboyz from Kenya Police.
Homeboyz Chairman Cleophas Shimanyula, responded to the match-fixing claims, saying the goalkeeper remains innocent until proven guilty.
“As a club, we can only take action if we get proper proof that he has been fixing matches. The video circulating only shows Matasi talking, we don’t know whether it is the real Matasi, if it is edited or not. We have seen videos being edited before to paint some prominent personalities in a wrong way,” he explained to Flashscore.
“If we manage to get tangible evidence of the game which he was being asked to fix, how much money he was paid, through which bank, and other details then we can take action against the player,” he added.
Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga expressed his shock on X, quoting the video shared online. “Damn, TF!” Olunga posted.
Standard could not reach Matasi for a comment at the time when this article was published.