AHF Insider: Corruption routine in Asian handball

These latest allegations add weight to complaints by Japan and South Korea over corruption and favouritism within the Kuwaiti based organisation.

Mohammed Abul, who was formerly a vice-president in the AHF (Asian Handball Federation) alleges that corruption became commonplace ever since current President Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah took the reins.

“The AHF is corrupt,” Abul told the Gulf Daily News. “They like to use no-name referees, bribe them to manipulate match results and then pay them for the dirty work. Our national team has suffered many defeats because of this.”

Abul alleges that the benefactors of this corruption have tended to be Kuwait, Sheikh Ahmad’s home nation, plus one or two of the ‘highest bidders’ on each occasion.

The Kuwaiti team has won every single Asian Men’s Handball Championship since 1996, except 2000 when they did not turn up.

Accusations backed up by IHF report
The accusations levelled by Abul are backed up by a report from the International Handball Federation Playing Rules and Referees Commission (PRC).

The PRC report documents instances of refereeing discrepancies committed during the 2002 Asian Men’s Championship, which was won by Kuwait with Qatar and Saudi Arabia in second and third place respectively.

The report highlighted the performance of two referees, who officiated in both Bahrain’s match against Qatar and later on in the tournament, the semi-final between South Korea and Saudi Arabia. In the first match, the officials made 16 clear mistakes according to the PRC, of which 13 were in favour of the Qataris. The PRC said of the match that “this proportion is so clear that there is an impression of an incorrect referee performance,” according to the documents presented to Gulf Daily News.

The South Korea versus Saudi Arabia match was even more lopsided, with 21 officiating errors recorded, of which 18 were in favour of the Saudis.

The Bahraini is now calling on the International Olympic Committee to intervene in the case and ensure fair play in Asian handball.

“The AHF president is a member of the IOC, and they have the power to investigate one of their members who doesn't follow the Olympic Charter,” Abul told Gulf Daily News.

Support East Asian allegations
The accusations add credence to recent allegations of corruption levelled by South Korea and Japan after controversial refereeing decisions reduced a recent qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Beijing to a farce (click here to read more).

Handball officials from both Japan and South Korea have complained of a history of suspicious decisions within the AHF, accusing the Kuwaitis of rigging Asian handball in favour of the Middle East.

One instance of perceived foul play was the Qatar’s victory over South Korea in the semi-finals of the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. The match featured several instances of suspicious refereeing, with the Koreans losing to the Qataris by 28 points to 40.

Documents provided by Abul suggest that the match was officiated by two referees who had been banned by the IHF.

Split in AHF
Currently, the extreme tensions within the AHF indicate an East-West split in the organisation is highly likely.

The AHF have threatened to ban (click here to read more) any team that took part in the recently replayed men’s and women’s Asian Olympic Qualifiers, in which Korea defeated Japan in both competitions.

However, with no other Asian teams competed in the replays, fearing sanctions from the AHF, the two East Asian nations look set to be kicked out of the AHF.

According to reports from the Yonhap News Agency, such will a move will trigger the formation of a new East Asian handball federation.

Speaking at a Press conference on 28 January 2008, prior to the match between the women’s teams of Japan and South Korea, Japan Handball Assoication President Yoshihide Watanabe stated that if the AHF carried out their ban, a split in Asian Handball “would be inevitable” reports the Associated Press news agency.

“We need some kind of handball organizing body to be formed by non-Arab members,” he added.

Play the Game contacted both the AHF and the IHF for comment on the allegations, but at the time of going to press, no comment was forthcoming.