Tweets expose alleged rigging of AFC draw

A number of tweets on Twitter, the social network, fueled much controversy and arguments about corruption within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) with regard to the upcoming fixtures on the road to Asia championship qualifiers.
An unknown tweeter, who calls himself FsadAFC, a clear reference to corruption within the AFC (since Fasad is Arabic for corruption), said that the “random draw” for Asia championship matches was rigged, to accommodate personal interests.
The unknown tweeter published the results 7 hours before the actual draw was carried out. He included one group that comprises four teams, and it was similar to the results of the random draw on Tuesday morning.
He posted 5 tweets, in which he said the following: “I am sorry for what is going to happen in the random draw for Asia championship matches. The results had already been rigged. They were divided into 5 groups according to personal interests. What you actually will see is fake and posturing in front of the media. To prove to you that I am right, and in order not to spoil the surprise for the viewers, I give you the arrangement for one group, as follows: Iran’s Istiqlal, Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab, UAE’s Al Jazeerah, and Qatar’s Rayyan. I just hope that AFC’s chairman stop tampering with the best club championship in Asia.”
This raised many eyebrows among followers of Asian football matches and many sports media people. Some said that the unknown tweeter wants to reach many followers, and so he concocted this story. Others believe that it’s impossible for him to include Shabab club in all the possibilities and then take off the rest of the incorrect possibilities, because this would require more than 200 tweets. Still others believe that this is a gimmick meant to bring down Shaikh Salman Al Khalifah, AFC chairman, who assumed the position after the corruption scandal that surrounded Mohamed Bin Hammam, the Qatari former chief of AFC. Many people are still arguing about the mysterious tweets.
Meanwhile, the results of the random draw were announced in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday morning. They showed hot encounters between 32 teams in the run-up to the championship. Saudi Arabia’s footballers are represented by Shabab, Al Fath, Al Ittihad, and Al Hilal.
The new championship rules stipulate that teams from West and East Asia should not meet except in the final match.