December 20 – Members of Afghanistan’s men’s national team have urged FIFA to investigate allegations of match-fixing against the president of the country’s FA.
According to The Guardian newspaper, the players are also continuing to boycott the team until Mohammad Yousef Kargar is removed.
Kargar has denied claims from several former internationals that he ordered them to fix two matches during a tournament in Malaysia in 2008.
The players allege the AFF president worked with notorious match-fixer, Wilson Raj Perumal, to arrange results of games against Nepal and Sierra Leone at the Merdeka tournament in 2008.
A group of 21 players led by current skipper Farshad Noor went on strike for the World Cup qualifiers against Qatar and Kuwait that Afghanistan lost heavily.
They are not due to play again until facing India in March and in a letter sent to FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, seen by the Guardian, the players outlined frustration at FIFA’s “silence” and said their boycott was “still active”.
“We kindly request and urge FIFA to take the matter at hand seriously,” the letter says. “Not only is the future of football in Afghanistan at risk, but also the families of players in Afghanistan. FIFA’s silence and the prolonged position of Kargar as president are immensely damaging.”
The players believe Kargar was not investigated for match-fixing in 2019 because those involved were “afraid to testify” against their former coach, who took over as president in January that year after his predecessor, Keramuudin Karim, was banned from football for life by FIFA after being accused of sexual abuse.
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