Safety fears see Iraq cup final moved to Kurdish north

[Barrett808]

Safety fears see Iraq cup final moved to Kurdish north
by Khalil Jalil

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AFP) - This year's Iraqi cup final is to be played in the autonomous Kurdish north for the first time amid safety fears around a tie that threatens to fan sectarian passions.

The favorites from Baghdad, 10-time champions Zawra, take on the long under-achieving side of the Shiite clerical capital Najaf, who are playing in the final for the first time in the cup's 32-year history.

"The government has advised us of its concerns about this tie being played in Baghdad because of the risk posed by thousands of fans being gathered in the Shaab stadium," the secretary general of the Iraqi Olympic Association Amer Jabbar, told AFP.

He said the government was particularly concerned about the difficulties of scheduling the game around the curfew in force in the capital.

Even when the curfew is not in force during the day, as it has been several times in recent weeks, the night-time ban on movement imposed since June 14 begins at 8:30 pm (1630 GMT).

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060624/wl_mideast_afp/fblirqsecurity

[acmavm]

1. Iraqis are soccer fanatics. This should tell everyone how bad it is over

there. They can't even have what amounts to the Super Bowl in their capital city because of the violence.