Senior Soccer Official Arrested
Posted on 13 June 2010 by LynThomas in sports, Uncategorized
The Rwandan Army hauled the president of the national soccer foundation, General Jean Bosco, Kazuara, back home. They arrested him on his arrival, for travelling to South Africa for the World Cup without prior permission.
“He had gone to South Africa for the World Cup without the authority of the military hierarchy. This is an act of insubordination,” an army spokesman said.
General Kazura, a senior figure in President Paul Kagame’s regime and a member of the very closed circle of rebel leaders who ended the 1994 genocide with him, is also in charge of operations and training in the Rwandan Army.
When the military realised he travelled to South Africa without permission, he was recalled and arrested upon arrival in the capital Kigali. Kazuara has been accused of high treason for ‘leaving the national territory without the consent of his superiors’.
The arrest of General Kazura, a Tutsi who grew up in exile in Burundi, came after the arrests of two other high-ranking Rwandan army generals in April.
Arrests however, are not uncommon in soccer.
In 2002 police arrested national league soccer referee, Yochanan Chibotero, on suspicion of being involved in a match-rigging scandal.
The ongoing investigation had already seen four soccer officials arrested on the same game fixing scandal, involving active and retired referees and linesmen.
Officials believed the arrests were just the tip of the iceberg.
The fixing was achieved through several methods:
- The referee or linesmen agreeing a result with a bettor before a game began, in exchange for a hefty payoff, amounting to thousands of dollars
- Awarding penalties through false calls, or a foul, or a hand ball in the penalty area
- Referees suspected of prolonging games, or failing to blow a whistle for some fouls
- Bettors placing money on various details of the game, with officials getting the payoff for delivering the goods to win the bets.
Pakistani soccer players
In 2000 a Pakistani football team was arrested while playing some friendly matches in the Afghan city of Kandahar.
The Taleban authorities said the wearing of shorts during a match violated the Islamic dress code, as there was too much flesh displayed.
The players were not only arrested, they also had their head shaved as punishment, before being sent back to Pakistan.
The team were in the middle of their third match, when the Taleban authorities moved into the stadium, arresting 12 members of the squad. Five other Pakistani players managed to escape.
Several spectators were injured in the stampede that followed the arrests.
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[...] The president of the national soccer foundation, General Jean Bosco Kazuara, was hauled back home by the Rwandan Army. They immediately arrested him on his arrival, for travelling to South Africa for the World Cup without prior permission. Soccer arrests were made for game fixing and wearing shorts… [...]