In this edition of Supporters Forum, the president of the South African National Supporters, Saddam Maake, has been accused of involvement in a fake ticket scam during the recent Soweto Derby.
Due to the high number of fake tickets, approximately 15,000 supporters were still outside the FNB Stadium when the Soweto Derby clash kicked off.
A Northern Cape-based Chiefs fan known as Nonny Wa Lekhosi is calling for Maake to take responsibility for the counterfeit tickets he organized.
"I'm in the Northern Cape, and what happened is that tickets for the derby were sold out, so I asked the president if he knew someone with extra tickets, as my branch members were eager for them," Nonny tells KickOff.
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"The president said, 'No man, I got someone from Mpumalanga'. A ticket was priced at R150, and another at R200. The guy who communicated with Saddam on our behalf was named Kabelo, he bought the tickets for R3 500.
"Kabelo wanted to go to Saddam in person to collect the tickets, but Saddam insisted, 'No, no, no, the ticket guy isn't here yet. Just come, and we will meet at the stadium at 12 midday at the Toyota parking area'.
"Because I had already bought my ticket for the derby, I was inside the stadium when I received a call from Kabelo telling me, 'All these tickets we got from Saddam are fake, and we are with Saddam here'. Everything unfolded in front of Saddam, along with his partner in crime.
"We are preparing to escalate this matter to the highest level. I forwarded a message to the SANASU secretary general, Mama Joy, where the ticket guy states he will only refund half of the money before the end of the month. I said no. We paid R3 500 for the tickets, which was paid directly to Saddam. How can they only refund us half when we paid extra for the ticket?
"I could understand if only one or two tickets were fake, but all of them?"
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In response to the accusations, Maake denied being a middleman in the black market.
"We were at the airport in Durban welcoming Chiefs players and technical team when people started asking about the availability of the Soweto Derby tickets, as Chiefs were playing Chippa United," Maake explains.
"Then a young man approached me and said, 'Saddam, I know somebody who is selling derby tickets'.
"When I arrived in Johannesburg, I began receiving calls from people asking about the derby tickets. I informed them about that young man, and they responded, 'No problem, we are prepared to pay any amount to get them'.
"I contacted the young man, and he informed me that a ticket was priced at R150. I relayed this feedback to the interested fans, and they agreed to buy the tickets.
"They said, 'Saddam, we can't send money to someone we don't know, it's better to send it to you since we trust you'. I accepted their request.
"On matchday, the young man indeed provided me with tickets. There were also people from Phalaborwa at the Toyota parking area, and the young man gave me envelopes containing tickets. They were till slip tickets, similar to airtime vouchers. I distributed the tickets to the concerned people.
"The young man is not denying anything, he has promised to refund them and has sent several voice notes assuring everyone he will pay. I want to clarify that I am not part of this. I am just a fall guy because the money was deposited into my bank account. However, I will communicate with Kabelo about this. I have never been a fan of the black market."