The captain of Nepal's football (soccer) team and four teammates have been arrested on charges of accepting money to fix matches.
Police spokesman Sarbendra Khanal said captain Sagar Thapa, Sandip Rai, Ritesh Thapa, Bikash Singh and Anjan KC are accused of taking money from bookmakers in Malaysia and Singapore to lose matches, based on information gained from an examination of the players's financial statements. The payments date back as far as 2008.
The price-fixing allegation is the latest scandal plaguing Nepal's national team. The ethics committee of FIFA, the sport's world governing body, launched an investigation last year into Nepal football chief Ganesh Thapa — a former Asian Football Confederation vice president — and possible financial irregularities during his tenure.
