Bribery charges hit Yemeni team

Bribery charges hit Yemeni team

JAKARTA (JP): A Yemen newspaper has reported that bribery was
involved in the Asian zone World Cup soccer qualifying match
between Yemen and Indonesia here in April.

Al-Ayyam, an independent newspaper, said Wednesday that
several Yemeni officials had paid Yemen players illegal bonuses
to beat Indonesia.

The story was big news in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. It came
from a source at the Yemen Football Association (YFA) who said
several Yemeni officials approached the players at their Jakarta
hotel and gave them U.S. dollars to beat Indonesia, Antara
reported yesterday.

The players accepted some money but could manage only a 0-0
draw. The officials were upset with the result and demanded the
their money back.

The officials threatened to blow up the bus carrying the
players to the airport if the money was not returned.

The paper said the association's chairman, Ali Ashwal, accused
the players of accepting bribes. But the players say they took
money only from a Yemeni businessman.

"The YFA chairman knew about the bribery but did not want to
disclose the matter until the remaining Asian Zone World Cup
matches end. He (Ashwal) wanted to keep it a secret as it might
disturb the players' concentration," the paper said.

Al Ayyam also reported that several Yemen players would be
dropped from the team for its match in Sanaa on Friday
(yesterday) because of the bribery scandal. (lnt)