The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Nigeria due in Brazil tomorrow after pay row Posted: 13 Jun 2013 09:58 PM PDT  WINDHOEK, June 14 — Nigeria are due to arrive in Brazil tomorrow to take part in the Confederations Cup, 24 hours later than scheduled, after a row over bonus payments saw the squad holed up in a Namibia hotel yesterday. A telephone call between FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke and an unnamed Nigerian official broke the impasse after the 23-man squad refused to travel to the tournament in a strike action designed to force the hand of their federation. "I've spoken with the team manager and they will be in the plane on Saturday and they will arrive for the Confederations Cup. The problem is solved," Valcke told a news conference in Rio de Janeiro, when asked about the problem. Nigeria's squad were supposed to leave Windhoek, one day after drawing 1-1 with hosts Namibia in a World Cup qualifier, for Johannesburg to connect with a flight to Brazil, where they are representing Africa at the eight-team, two-week tournament. But the players refused to leave the hotel in a row over promised payments for points garnered in two World Cup qualifiers against Kenya and Namibia over the last week. Bonuses had been cut in half from US$10,000 (RM30,000) to US$5,000 by the Nigerian Football Federation, local football sources said, in what was presented as a cost-cutting measure but the players refused to accept new terms and decided to strike. "They are declining to leave," Namibia FA general secretary Barry Rukoro told Reuters earlier yesterday. "They were supposed to go at 11 am this morning but they say they are owed money by their association and want it sorted before they will leave the hotel. "Their officials all departed on an earlier flight this morning but the players and the technical staff are still here." Nigeria are due to play their first game in the tournament against Tahiti in Belo Horizonte on Monday but will have little time to acclimatise to the conditions. It is the second major controversy to rock Nigeria since they won the African Nations Cup in South Africa in February. Coach Stephen Keshi resigned the day after they won the title, telling South African radio station Metro FM there were continual efforts by unnamed officials to undermine his work. However, he was persuaded to quickly change his mind in a tawdry affair that took some of the gloss off Nigeria's triumph. Striker actions are nothing new in Africa and are used as a tactic by players desperate to secure promised payments. — Reuters |
| Malaysia fans offered cash reward to police FA Cup final Posted: 13 Jun 2013 09:47 PM PDT  KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — Sick and tired of crowd violence marring matches, the Football Association of Malaysia will offer fans a financial reward if they catch hooligans causing trouble at the FA Cup final later this month. The FAM said supporters would be given RM1,000 for their 'policework' during the showpiece final between Kelantan and Johor Darul Takzim at the National Stadium on June 29. "We have decided to take a different, and positive, approach to preventing crowd trouble during the Cup final," FAM competitions committee chairman Hamidin Mohd Amin was quoted as saying by Malaysian media today. Johor's semi-final second leg against Pahang was abandoned due to crowd trouble, while Kelantan were fined RM40,000 last year after their fans caused a long delay to a Cup match when they threw bottles on to the field. Amin said each team would also appoint 100 marshals to help the police with crowd control at the match, which is expected to be an 87,000 sell out. "I need to laud the proactive steps being taken by FAM to control the crowd and I believe these two measures will improve the safety of fans in the stadium," FAM security committee chairman Seri Wira Salleh Mat Rasid said. — Reuters |
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