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)