Lebanese referees dropped ahead of East Bengal's AFC Cup clash

Three Lebanese football officials have been dropped from refereeing an AFC Cup match in Singapore and are helping the country’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) with their enquiries, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said on Wednesday. Ali Sabbagh and assistant referees Ali Eid and Abdallah Taleb were taken to the CPIB early on Wednesday, the FAS said, and replacement officials were taking charge of the match between Tampines Rovers and East Bengal of India later in the day. “Singapore and FAS have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to matchfixing and football corruption,” the FAS said in a statement released shortly before the match was due to kick-off. [caption id=“attachment_684990” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A file photo of East Bengal in action. AIFF[/caption] “We take a serious view of allegations pertaining to matchfixing and football corruption activities and the authorities and FAS will spare no effort in minimising the possibility of such activities taking place within the local football scene.” The FAS said it had contacted the Asian Football Confederation immediately and replacement officials were sent to cover the match in the region’s second-tier international club tournament. The AFC, contacted by Reuters, said it would not comment on the situation. The CPIB, a government law-enforcement body that is separate from the regular police, confirmed it had spoken with the three officials. “We adopt a zero tolerance approach towards corruption, and matchfixing of any form is not condoned in Singapore,” the body said in an email to Reuters. A CPIB spokesman declined to comment when asked if the three officials were still being questioned or if their passports had been impounded. Sabbagh has been an international referee since 2008, according to world governing body FIFA, and has taken charge of World Cup qualifiers in Asia in recent times. He officiated in Nepal’s 2-1 win over East Timor in a second-round qualifying match in June 2011 and Oman’s win over Myanmar. While no arrests have been made, the incident and mere mention of matchfixing by the two organisations is sure to unsettle fans of the world’s most popular sport in two countries which have suffered heavily in recent times. In February, European anti-crime agency Europol said hundreds of football matches had been fixed in a global betting scam run from Singapore. It identified some 680 suspicious matches, including qualifying games for the World Cup and European Championship, and for Europe’s Champions League. Later that month, the Lebanese Football Association punished 24 players for their involvement in rigging international and regional matches. That included lifetime bans for internationals Ramez Dayoub and Mahmoud El-Ali. Other cases in Asia have occurred in China, Malaysia and South Korea in recent times with the AFC and FIFA stressing the need for education to prevent the issue in a region where poorly-paid players can be seen as easy targets for criminals. The FAS said it had been praised for its efforts in tackling matchfixing. “The FAS is pleased to note that several organisations, including the AFC and Interpol, have commended us for our commitment and efficiency in fighting matchfixing, which has become a global scourge,” it said. “Going forward, we will continue to participate in ongoing international efforts to combat this problem, from and within the game.” Reuters