This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-34763303

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Nepal footballers charged with treason for match-fixing Nepal footballers in treason hearing over match-fixing
(about 3 hours later)
Five Nepali footballers have been charged with treason over allegations of match-fixing during qualifiers in 2011 for the World Cup, police said. Five Nepali footballers have appeared in court charged with treason over alleged match-fixing in World Cup qualifiers in 2011.
Former Captain Sagar Thapa and goalkeeper Ritesh Thapa as well as three others were arrested last month. The footballers - including former captain Sagar Thapa and goalkeeper Ritesh Thapa - were arrested last month after police said they found large sums of money from suspected match-fixers in their bank accounts.
Police said significant sums of money were found in their bank accounts from suspected match-fixers in South East Asia. A lawyer for one of the players says they deny all charges.
The athletes allegedly deliberately lost a number of qualifiers. Prosecutors are seeking life sentences.
The men have previously denied any wrongdoing and maintain that they are innocent. "We hope the truth will come out," Thapa told reporters outside the Special Court in Kathmandu.
"The government has charged the five footballers arrested last month with treason and has sought a life sentence as punishment," Bhadrakali Pokharel, registrar at the Special Court in Kathmandu, told AFP news agency. Five of the players are in police custody while another - a physiotherapist for the team - is regarded as a fugitive.
Mr Pokharel said they were charged under a 1989 act that anyone "causing or attempting to cause disorder with the intention of jeopardising Nepal's sovereignty, integrity or national unity, shall be liable for life imprisonment". The players were charged under a 1989 act against "unlawfully jeopardising Nepal's sovereignty, integrity or national unity", said Bhadrakali Pokharel, registrar at the Special Court in Kathmandu.
The footballers are expected to be presented before a court on Monday. Speaking to AFP, he added: "The government has charged the five footballers arrested last month with treason and has sought a life sentence as punishment."
The footballers were alleged to have deliberately lost several games in 2011 as part of Nepal's unsuccessful bid for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Football's world governing body Fifa has been embroiled in a series of alleged corruption scandals in recent months.Football's world governing body Fifa has been embroiled in a series of alleged corruption scandals in recent months.