Singapore players sidelined
Singapore players sidelined
SINGAPORE (Reuter): Singapore's soccer authorities have told clubs to sideline four players named in a match-fixing case, the Straits Times newspaper reported yesterday.
It quoted S-League chief Douglas Moore as saying it would not be fair to the players to let them on the field while the case was under way.
"If a particular player makes a genuine mistake, fans may compound the problem by ridiculing every move which they perceive as wrong made by the player," he said.
Two men, a businessman and a former employee, have been charged with corruption, criminal conspiracy and bribery over accusations that they tried to fix matches in the S-League's inaugural season last year.
Businessman Rajendran R. Kurusamy, 37, and former employee Ramadas Eurulandi Sangalee, 40, appeared in court on Friday and were freed on bail, the newspaper said. Corruption charges carry penalties of up to five years in jail and a fine of S$100,000 (US$70,000).
The Straits Times said another man faced three bribery charges but police had not yet found him.
The newspaper said the charges included giving money to a referee to fix matches.
The charges also included handing over money which allegedly eventually reached the four players.
Singapore's anti-corruption police, who are handling the case, were not immediately available for comment.
The S-League was set up last year after Singapore pulled out of the Malaysian League following a series of bribery scandals.
Dozens of Malaysian players were banned for lengthy periods after those scandals. One-time Singapore star Abbas Saad, a Lebanese-born Australian, was banned for life. A Singapore manager and a player both went to jail.
The Malaysian football authorities complained then that Singapore was not doing enough to clamp down on match-fixing because it had accused only a few people of doing it. Singapore rejected the charge.
In Europe last week, Swiss referee Kurt Roethlisberger was suspended for life for attempted bribery. He has appealed against the ban.