BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Iraq’s national soccer coach has resigned after receiving death threats against him and his family, a top sporting official said Saturday. It was the latest in a series of threats, kidnappings, and killings of Iraqi sports officials.
Coach Akram Ahmed Salman submitted his resignation Friday to the secretary general of the Iraqi Football Federation, Ahmed Abbas, and left the capital, Abbas said.
“He resigned due to a threat he received to quit training the Iraqi soccer team,” Abbas said. “’We know you, your family members and your address. Quit training the Iraqi soccer team otherwise you’ll all be eliminated.”’
It was not clear if the threat was made over the telephone or through a written statement.
Salman was not reachable for comment.
The soccer team is headed Saturday to the northern city of Irbil for a training camp in preparation for the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, in December. Salman and his family accompanied the team to Irbil — among the safest parts of Iraq — but will not supervise training, Abbas said.
Earlier this month, unknown gunmen kidnapped the chairman of Iraq’s National Olympic Committee and at least 30 other officials, including the presidents of the taekwondo and boxing federations, in a brazen daylight raid on a sports conference in the heart of Baghdad.
The abduction came after Iraq’s national wrestling coach, a Sunni, was killed in a Shiite district of Baghdad.
Iraqis have been rallying behind their soccer team, whose successes in the past three years have provided a joyous distraction from the daily violence. The team won the gold medal in the West Asian Games in November 2005, beating Syria 4-3 on penalties.
In July 2004, Iraqis took to the streets, firing shots in the air, after their team reached the Asian Cup quarterfinal. The team lost 3-0 to host China, but Iraqis were still thrilled the team had made it that far.
In the Athens Olympic Games in August 2004, the first Olympic competition after Saddam’s toppling, the team claimed a surprising 4-2 victory over Portugal, who had reached the final of the European Championship that year.
PREVIOUS
