[Published: Tuesday December 04 2018]
 Afghanistan to probe sexual abuse in women's football
KABUL 4 Dec (ANA) - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has called for an investigation into claims of sexual abuse of members of the national women's football team, calling the allegations "shocking" and vowing to act immediately.
The president's comments on Tuesday comes days after the Guardian newspaper published a story about alleged sexual and physical abuse of members of the women's team by male officials, including the president of the country's football federation.
"It is shocking to all Afghans. Any kind of misconduct against athletes, male and female, is not acceptable," Ghani said after a meeting with the country's attorney general.
"I ask the attorney general to conduct a thorough investigation compliant with our legal codes into the issue," he added.
The Guardian report cited senior figures associated with the women's team as saying the abuse took place in Afghanistan, including at the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) headquarters in Kabul, and at a training camp in Jordan last February.
The story quoted former captain Khalida Popal, who was forced to flee the country in 2016 and seek asylum in Denmark after receiving death threats. She said male officials were "coercing" female players.
The report published on Friday said FIFA, football's world governing body, is investigating the claims, and an anonymous source told the Guardian that the organisation had been working with the United Nations on some players' safety.
"FIFA has been fully aware of the situation in Afghanistan and has been working hard to secure the safety of the girls," the UK newspaper quoted the source as saying.(ANA)
FA/ANA/4 December 2018-------- |
Russia/UK/Ukraine