Sexual harassment case vs 2 Azkals players hurts team

By Cedelf P. Tupas
Philippine Daily Inquirer

KATHMANDU—With two of its players hounded by allegations of sexual harrasment, the Azkals’ buildup for the AFC Challenge Cup was thrown off track by the controversy, team manager Dan Palami admitted Friday.

“The players concerned are quite bothered,” Palami said just before the Azkals faced defending champion North Korea here.

“I mean they know their family members are hurt by this incident. What bothers the team is that they did a normal thing.”

Palami said the case filed by match commissioner Cristy Ramos before the Asian Football Confederation against Lexton Moy and Fil-Spanish Angel Guirado could have been a simple case of “misimpression.”

“It (the controversy) has caught everybody by surprise,” Palami said.

“What hurts more is that people already assume that it’s true and that (Ramos) had been harassed. I think it was actually a misimpression of what she heard in the dressing room.”

Based on his own investigation, Palami said the players were joking among themselves when Ramos heard what she claimed was a query over her bra size from Moy.

Guirado, the manager said, was actually wearing shorts, not underwear, during the inspection.

“Now that I have been able to talk to everybody in the team, it strengthens my conviction that this is all but a major misunderstanding,” Palami said.

“There was actually a conversation among the players prior to (Ramos’) arrival. The players were consistent with their assertion. Angel Guirado was actually wearing shorts. When she (Ramos) entered (the Azkals’ locker), the players were in various states of undress, just like in any other locker room.”

Palami added: “They (players) were talking among themselves. There was a comment made by Denis Wolf about the flatness of Carli’s (De Murga) chest, to which Lexton Moy replied, ‘Just because you are Cup B you say that to Carli, or something to that effect. Denis and Carli even hugged each other. It was all a joke.”

The manager lamented that some quarters have already made conclusions about the incident even before the investigation could end.

“All I’m saying is that, the players have submitted to the (investigation) process,” Palami said. “What’s wrong with waiting for the result? Will the incident change if you talk to the media now.”

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