Harambee  Stars  and Kakamega Homeboyz goalkeeper Patrick Matasi is embroiled in a serious match-fixing scandal.

This is after a video of a man believed to be him making a deal with a yet to be identified person emerged on social media. The two were making arrangements on influencing the outcome of a league with ‘Matasi’ being promised a handsome reward. Apparently, the video was recorded in secret without the footballer’s knowledge.

Matasi has however denied being involved in the scheming.

“I have spoken to him. He was also shocked at what he was seeing in the video and he told me he doesn’t know about match-fixing,” Kakamega Homeboyz owner Cleophas Shimanyula told BBC Sports.

Shimanyula also noted that Matasi hadn’t wronged the club in any manner from the video, insisting that he is innocent until proven guilty.

“He will keep playing for us because there’s no wrongdoing on his part as far as we are concerned – unless there’s evidence or the FKF writes to us to say they are suspecting the player of some wrongdoing. He is innocent until proven guilty and then we will act,” Shimanyula noted.

On the other hand, the Football Federation of Kenya has suspended him for 90 days as investigations into the matter are carried out, in accordance with Section VII (2) of the FKF Anti-Match Manipulation Regulations of 2016.

This means that he is not allowed to participate in events organised by FKF for three months until investigations are concluded.

FKF said that it will work with FIFA, Confederation of African Football and relevant authorities during the investigation.

What happens if found guilty?

There are no specific laws governing match-fixing in the country and its entirely FKF responsibility to deal with the vice. According to lawyer Japheth Munyendo, if FKF is convinced that a player or any relevant parties is involved in match-fixing the first step is to suspend the individual through match-fixing.

“If found guilty, a player is banned or fined. If aggrieved, the decision is taken through an appeal process, and in the case it (appeal) is not accepted, the journey goes to the Sports Dispute Tribunal (SDT), then the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS),” Munyendo said.

If found guilty, Matasi’s football career will suffer a major setback. Firstly, he could face a ban from football. The ban could be short, lengthy or even a lifetime.

Alternatively, the 37-year old will be fined at least Kshs1,000,000.

In previous cases, there suspects who have been taken to courts of law to face trial.

Aside from the mentioned penalties, another consequence that Matasi will suffer is a ruined reputation thus limiting chances of him advancing his football career.

Match-fixing however doesn’t impacts only the involved party but also the country at large. This is because investors, sponsors and other relevant parties will shun from associating with tainted events. This in return affects the growth and development of Kenyan Football.

The vice damages the integrity of the country’s sports as well as that of other sports persons. It also results to a decline in fan base thus leading to significant financial losses.