Azkals, Palami deny 'rape' allegation

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine football team preparing for a second round World Cup qualifying date against Kuwait dismissed Monday a stunning accusation that four of its members were involved in a ‘rape’ incident.

“It’s unfortunate that the boys have to face a controversy like this, but our main focus remains on our game versus Kuwait,” Azkals team manager Dan Palami said.

A tabloid report quoting a certain Paul Weiler, a German who had previous connections with the Philippine Football Federation, accused four Azkals of raping a woman inside the house of Palami in Manila more than a month ago.

But the four players – Jason Sabio, Neil Etheridge, Anton Del Rosario and Simon Greatwich – dispelled the allegation.

No charges have been filed against the players.

“Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat pa sa suporta nyo. The rumors/accusations are far from the truth and I hope that this matter is resolved,” Sabio said on his Twitter page.

“Thanks every1 for ur kind msgs of support. Don’t believe everything u read & these stories are far from the truth. Maraming salamat,” Greatwich said on Twitter.

“We’re trying to focus on the game ahead of us and that’s what’s more important than anything else,” Del Rosario said.

Palami said team officials will investigate the issue “which is now circulating in the internet” and promised to impose sanction if the allegation was true.

“These are serious allegations that are being plastered on the internet. As manager of the team, if this were true this will not be tolerated,” Palami said. “On the other hand, I can’t impose sanctions based merely on internet blogs because actually, I can write anything on the internet. Actually many of the information on the internet are unverified so I can’t rely on these alone.”

Palami said the team is affected by the issue.

“Of course it’s affecting our preparations because many of my players are bothered by this,” Palami said. “But after talking to my players, they are as surprised as well.”

Weiler, in the same tabloid report, claimed that he served as consultant of the PFF until June 15 this year, but PFF president Mariano Araneta said he doesn’t remember having an employee or official bearing his name.

“The source of the information is a purportedly self-appointed PFF consultant who’s basing his appointment on a letter made by then president Romualdez who has long been gone from the scene. Between that and the internet blog I have no sufficient basis to believe,” Palami said in a TV interview.

The Azkals are preparing for the home-and-away series against Kuwait on July 23 and 28.

Francis Santiago, Manila Bulletin