1 Lebanese Football Official in Singapore Hospital, 2 in Court
One of the three football officials facing match-fixing related charges has been sent to the hospital with an undisclosed illness while the other two appeared in a Singapore court and entered no pleas.
Referee Ali Sabbagh and assistant referees Ali Eid and Abdallah Taleb, all from Lebanon, were charged with "corruptly receiving gratification in the form of free sexual service" by Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.
The bureau said the men accepted "free sexual service" in return for attempting to fix an Asian Football Confederation Cup match.
On Friday, Eid was admitted to a hospital after complaining of being ill and remained under observation. He will appear in court on Monday.
All three were remanded in custody and a bail hearing will be held next Wednesday.
The anti-corruption agency said it launched an investigation after receiving prior information of match-fixing involving a game between Singapore club Tampines Rovers and East Bengal of India on Wednesday. East Bengal won 4-2 with replacement officials.
"Singapore has always adopted a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption, and match-fixing of any form is not condoned in Singapore," the statement said. "The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau investigates into match-fixing through bribery cases and will not hesitate to take action against any parties involved if they had given or received bribes to fix a match."
An 18-month review by Europol recently revealed that a Singapore-based crime syndicate has been involved in fixing football matches around the world, including World Cup qualifiers and Champions League matches.
Source: Associated Press
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