Keramuudin Karim, the president of the Afghanistan Football Federation
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
December 12, 2018
FIFA has temporarily suspended the head of Afghanistan’s Football Federation (AFF) over the alleged physical and sexual abuse of players on the country’s women’s football team.
The suspension of AFF president Keramuudin Karim applies to all football-related activities at national and international level, and expires in 90 days.
World soccer’s governing body, FIFA, said the sanction was imposed “in connection with ongoing investigations concerning AFF officials, as reported by local authorities and published by some media.”
The former head of the women’s football department Khalida Popal, team coach Kelly Lindsey, and players Mina Ahmadi and Shabnam Mobarez accused federation officials of abuse in a report published last month by Britain’s The Guardian newspaper.
They told The Guardian that abuse occurred inside Afghanistan and at a training camp in Jordan in February.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said the revelations were “shocking to all Afghans.”
The AFF has denied the claims.
Afghanistan’s attorney general placed six AFF members under suspension on December 9.
Fazel Fazly, a top adviser to Ghani, said the six included Karim.
Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
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