Scandal erupted last week when several newspapers blamed the robberies of Egyptian soccer players on prostitutes that Egyptian players allegedly brought back to their rooms during the Confederations Cup in South Africa. But Egyptian diplomats are expecting a police investigation to force these newspapers to retract their stories and clear the players' names.

"We are disappointed with the false accusations that were published in some of the South African newspapers concerning the theft incident quoting an anonymous top police security official," the Egyptian delegation said. "Security officials should have been focused on their duties: (conducting) thorough investigations and reporting the results. After what was published by the newspapers, we are demanding a formal statement from the police department to either deny these allegations or to provide us with evidence they have (if there is any)."

This week the Saturday Star established from staff at the Protea Wanderers Hotel that seven housekeeping staff had been dismissed following the burglary of five of the Egyptian team members' rooms. And earlier this week the hotel released a statement saying that its staff had been questioned by police. This investigation established the players were not in their rooms when the theft occurred. On Friday night, the management at the hotel once again refused to speak to the Saturday Star when asked whether the seven housekeeping staff had been fired or suspended for their alleged involvement in the theft.

 

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