23 Jun 2009

Egypt blame Cup exit on media 'lies' about prostitutes

6:43 pm on 23 June 2009

Egypt's footballers have blamed their Confederations Cup exit on news media "lies" about their players consorting with prostitutes after beating the world champions Italy.

After the African champions 3-0 loss to the United States their head of mission Mahmoud Taher told a news conference they were stunned by newspaper reports in Johannesburg.

Mahmoud Taher said the players were robbed and the impact of reports attributed to un-named police officers that the money had been paid to prostitutes had contributed to their surprise defeat.

He says no women came to the team's hotel and when the players went to their rooms they discovered they had lost their money and their belongings.

There have also been reports that some Brazilian players were robbed at their hotel.