Brazilian players fail to return home

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)