AFC official warns of haze and bribery

AFC official warns of haze and bribery

JAKARTA (JP): Bribery and the haze threat were the two main
concerns at the 19th SEA Games soccer technical meeting.

Secretary-general of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC),
Dato Peter Velappen said that the haze, which has shrouded some
of Indonesian islands for the last three months, should be
watched.

"The organizing committee should monitor the air pollution
index and warn the participating teams immediately if the haze
reaches an unhealthy level," he said.

He also warned about bribery, saying that players should
uphold moral values.

"The AFC and the Indonesian Soccer Association are not the FBI
nor the police. Although we've been fighting bribery for the last
ten years it still exists," he said adding that a key figure in
any bribe deal would be a player.

"The player should never take the offer," he added.

Soccer starts today at 4 p.m. The first two matches are
Indonesia against Laos at Senayan main stadium and Thailand
against Myanmar at Lebak Bulus stadium.

At 6:15 p.m. Brunei Darussalam will play Cambodia in Lebak
Bulus and Vietnam will play against Malaysia in Senayan.

Ten countries will participate in the soccer events. The Games
organizers have divided the countries into two groups.

Group A consists of Thailand, Myanmar, Brunei Darussalam,
Cambodia, and Singapore. Group B consists of Indonesia, Laos,
Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.

The round-robin matches will be held from today until Oct. 14
and the final match will be on Oct. 18 at Senayan main stadium.

Laos' team manager, Sophou Phongsa, said yesterday that his
team was only aiming for a draw against host Indonesia.

"We will try to do our best," he said, adding that Laos would
also try to reach the quarterfinals.

But Phongsa declined to name his team line-up, adding that two
of his players were injured.

The 19th SEA Games will also hold a women's soccer
competition. Six countries will participate. They are Thailand,
the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar and Indonesia.

Separately, the 19th SEA Games organizers' ceremony deputy
Putera Astaman said that the opening ceremony budget had had to
be cut to Rp 4.8 billion (US$1.3 million) from an earlier figure
of Rp 6.8 billion.

"The budget reduction will not dampen the brightness of the
ceremony," Putera said during the opening ceremony rehearsal at
Senayan Main Stadium.

He did not give further details about which occasions were
affected by the reduction.

The reduction followed an instruction by President Soeharto
last month on budget efficiency for the biennial event.

About 13,000 participants -- students, athletes, artists and
armed forces officers will take part in the opening ceremony on
Oct. 11.

The ceremony will present traditional and modern dances,
music, songs, a drum band, skydiving and other attractions.

The organizers have decided to retain the Rp 1.5 billion
budget for the closing ceremony. (08/10)