/ 29 January 2008

Cup bribery dossier handed to police

A dossier on attempts to fix matches at the Africa Cup of Nations finals has been given to the Ghana police, the Confederation of African Football said on Tuesday. Benin and Namibia were approached last week to throw games at the tournament in Ghana, offered money by an unidentified man to lose group matches.

A dossier on attempts to fix matches at the Africa Cup of Nations finals has been given to the Ghana police, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said on Tuesday.

Both Benin and Namibia were approached last week to throw games at the tournament in Ghana, offered money by an unidentified man to lose group matches.

The incidents were reported by both Benin coach Reinhard Fabisch and Namibia players to local authorities, CAF said.

CAF general secretary Mustapha Fahmy said a dossier, including statements from those approached and contact details given by a man purporting to represent betting interests in Singapore, was turned over to police.

”We have asked them to do a thorough investigation and have given them all the details we were able to collect,” Fahmy told Reuters.

Namibia were offered up to $30 000 per player to lose their game against Guinea on Monday, which ended in a 1-1 draw, but players immediately reported the approach to team officials.

Fabisch revealed details of an approach he received ahead of Benin’s opening game against Mali in Sekondi.

Fabisch said he had been approached by a man who claimed to be from a Singapore-based company and later made an affidavit to CAF.

”He wanted to find out from me if there was any possibility of manipulating the match,” Fabisch said.

The man said the company he represented claimed to be able to fix matches across Africa and planned to win money in bets on the tournament’s opening goal. – Reuters