Brazilian players fail to return home

PADANG (JP): Two Brazilian players, Antonio Claudio and Luzardi De Oliviera, have failed to return to their country because their club, PSP Padang, has yet to pay them their salaries.

Claudio told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that he and De Oliviera had received calls from the Brazilian Embassy advising them to leave Indonesia for fear of social unrest in the upcoming general election.

"But we cannot return because we don't have enough money to pay for our plane tickets," Antonio, who played in the club for three seasons, said.

He also criticized the club, saying it was unprofessional in managing its players. "The club only paid Rp 2.5 million out of Rp 10 million of my contract fees. We can't go anywhere with only Rp 2.5 million on hand," he said.

He said the Brazilian Embassy would not accept responsibility for any of its citizens who refused to return home. "If Brazilian soccer players refuse to return home as suggested, they should be responsible for their own security." (ivy/28)