Harassment raps taking toll on Phl booters

KATHMANDU – No matter how hard they tried to put on “business-as-usual” front amid a raging issue back home, one can see the gloom in the faces of the Azkals, the emotional torment taking some spring from their legs as they prepare for an Everest-scale mission in the AFC Challenge Cup here.

“The players concerned are quite bothered, I mean, they know family members are hurt by this particular incident,” said team manager Dan Palami, taking the cudgels for Angel Guirado and Lexton Moy, whose actions during the pre-game inspection for the Azkals-Malaysia friendly had offended match commissioner Cristy Ramos.

The former Philippine Olympic Committee president has filed a “sexual harassment” complaint with the Asian Football Federation and the Philippine Football Federation, which had tasked its disciplinary committee to investigate.

Palami said based on his initial probe, it was a “major misunderstanding” and that Ramos might have “misinterpreted” the goings-on in the dugout.

“What bothers the team is that they just underwent a normal, regular process of checking, just like any other checking here in Nepal or in Myanmar, or in Singapore. So it got everybody by surprise and what’s more hurtful is, people assumed it’s true and they’re actually harassing Cristy even if I think it’s just actually a misimpression of what she heard in the dressing room,” Palami said.

A member of the coaching staff revealed that Fil-Chinese Moy was obviously affected by the allegations. “He was not his usual self during the first few days of training here.”

Guirado’s mother and fiancee back in Spain are also saddened and depressed by the issues besieging the Fil-Spanish midfielder.

“This case has been submittted to disciplinary committee and even in the middle of preparations for the AFC Challenge Cup, the players are bugged down by the request that they prepare a statement as to their actions at time of incident,” he said.

Guirado is in hot water for supposedly wearing briefs when Ramos was inspecting the team.

“The players maintained in their assertion that Angel wasn’t actually wearing underwear, he was wearing short shorts that were provided at that time. When she entered, the players were in various state of disarray and undress, as fitting any other locker-room,” Palami said.

Moy’s alleged “B-Cup” comment, he said, turned out to be a part of the Azkals’ jokes on Carli de Murga’s “flat chest.”

“There was comment made by Denis Wolf about the flatness of Carli’s chest, to which Lexton Moy said: ‘Just because you’re Cup B, you’re talking to Carli like that,’ something to that effect and then Carli and Denis hugged, knowing it’s all a joke. During that time, Cristy came in and perhaps that’s what she heard,” Palami said.