Bribery charges hit Yemeni team<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A Yemen newspaper has reported that bribery was
\ninvolved in the Asian zone World Cup soccer qualifying match
\nbetween Yemen and Indonesia here in April.<\/p>\n
Al-Ayyam, an independent newspaper, said Wednesday that
\nseveral Yemeni officials had paid Yemen players illegal bonuses
\nto beat Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The story was big news in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. It came
\nfrom a source at the Yemen Football Association (YFA) who said
\nseveral Yemeni officials approached the players at their Jakarta
\nhotel and gave them U.S. dollars to beat Indonesia, Antara
\nreported yesterday.<\/p>\n
The players accepted some money but could manage only a 0-0
\ndraw. The officials were upset with the result and demanded the
\ntheir money back.<\/p>\n
The officials threatened to blow up the bus carrying the
\nplayers to the airport if the money was not returned.<\/p>\n
The paper said the association's chairman, Ali Ashwal, accused
\nthe players of accepting bribes. But the players say they took
\nmoney only from a Yemeni businessman.<\/p>\n
\"The YFA chairman knew about the bribery but did not want to
\ndisclose the matter until the remaining Asian Zone World Cup
\nmatches end. He (Ashwal) wanted to keep it a secret as it might
\ndisturb the players' concentration,\" the paper said.<\/p>\n
Al Ayyam also reported that several Yemen players would be
\ndropped from the team for its match in Sanaa on Friday
\n(yesterday) because of the bribery scandal. (lnt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bribery-charges-hit-yemeni-team-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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