Police are due to question the Egyptian soccer team on Monday, after it emerged that some players were not robbed but might have been taken for a ride by women they had invited to their hotel for an impromptu victory party.
Initial investigations point to no forced entry in any of the Joburg hotel's rooms. They show that the players may have been the victims of those they invited to join them to celebrate their surprise win over Italy.
It was decided to hold off questioning the team on Sunday, because of their final Confederations Cup group match against the USA last night, a local organising committee source said.
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"They (the police) did not want to interrogate the team ahead of the match (against the USA) and be accused of harassing the players if they do not perform.
'The long and the short of it is that the police are not convinced of the story' "The long and the short of it is that the police are not convinced of the story," the LOC source said.
All room safes were linked to a central computer and there were no signs of tampering, nor were there signs of forced entry to the rooms themselves. Electronic access to rooms was also monitored.
The LOC, which has been at pains to show the world that South Africa is not a crime hellhole, is expected to ask police to issue a statement as soon as the investigation is completed.
However, the chairperson of the Egyptian football federation reacted angrily to allegations that their players had "been caught with their pants down", the German press agency dpa reported on Sunday.
"I think that they (newspapers' sources) said that to divert attention from the main issue, which is security, by creating a scandal for the Egyptian team," Samir Zahir was reported as saying.
The amount reportedly stolen was $2 400 (about R19 500) and was said to have been discovered after the Egyptian players returned to their hotel rooms after Thursday's victory.
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