Peruvian soccer players drugged by opposing team

Lima, Agency
Four players with the Peruvian second division soccer team Acosvinchos were drugged by trainers from rival Sport Ancash during a match last weekend, Acosvinchos club executive Americo Ibañez said.

The four Acosvinchos players collapsed on the field minutes from the end of Sunday's contest in Ancash, northeast of Lima.

The Acosvinchos team doctor later said he suspected the players got sick after drinking water provided to them by a trainer from the opposing squad, adding that their symptoms indicated they had ingested some kind of tranquilizer.

Hospital tests confirmed the doctor's theory, Ibañez said.

"What happened is that some drank the liquid that the medical personnel from Ancash gave them and then they felt dizzy, nauseous, and fainted on the field," the club executive told CPN radio.

He rejected statements made Tuesday by Sport Ancash club president Pepe Mallqui, who said the players got sick because of what they ate before the match.

"The players ate very late, around 2:00 p.m. They ate grilled chicken with condiments," Mallqui said. "Together with the physical effort and dehydration, that must have caused the illness of those youngsters."

Ibañez denied his players ate grilled chicken before the match and said will present videotapes to the Peruvian Soccer Federation confirming his accusation with the aim of persuading the organization to throw out his club's 3-0 loss in Ancash.

Sport Ancash is currently in second place in the second division, two points ahead of third-place Acosvinchos.