According to the Guardian, several former Afghan players have accused the country’s football federation’s president, Mohammad Kargar, of fixing two men’s national team matches in 2008.
Former Afghanistan captain Djelaludin Sharityar and goalie Aimal Gerowal are among those who have accused Kargar, who was also the team’s coach for two years.
They accused Kargar of arranging the results of games against Nepal and Sierra Leone in the Merdeka tournament in 2008 in collaboration with match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal and Dan Tan.
Several Afghan players have claimed that Kargar was also involved in a conspiracy with Perumal and his accomplice Tan in exchange for each player receiving $2,500 at a friendly tournament in Malaysia.
Sharityar and three other German-based players in the squad said they refused to participate in the alleged fix, and the former captain said he begged with Kargar not to go ahead with a plan to draw 2-2 against Nepal on 16 October 2008 at the Petaling Jaya Stadium in Sengahor.
The players also stated that Kargar had planned to lose their second match 6-0 versus Sierra Leone’s under-20 team a few days later, but Hafizullah Qadami broke orders by scoring a goal, and the game ended 6-1. He never played another game for Afghanistan.
Kargar, on the other hand, has refuted all charges.
Afghanistan captain Islam Amiri revealed in front of the rest of the squad in November 2016 that he had participated in match-fixing at the tournament in Malaysia but had not been penalised.
Earlier this month, 18 Afghan men’s team players skipped a World Cup qualifier against Qatar, citing poor treatment from the football federation.
The players addressed a letter to FIFA and the AFC stating their complaints about the federation, which included charges of corruption.
The players stated in their letter that senior officials from their football association misused cash that were supposed to be invested in the country’s development of football.
“Every year, our federation receives financial support from Fifa and the AFC,” Afghan footballer Shayesteh, who plays for Sreenidi Deccan in India, told the Guardian.
The players have also claimed that members of the AFF’s executive committee shared half of the $30,000 incentive meant for the squad after progressing to the next round of World Cup qualifying.
On November 16, a side of mostly local players was crushed 8-1 by Qatar.