MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

U-20 football World Cup ready for kick-off in Argentina

Hosts Argentina will play against Uzbekistan at Santiago del Estero's stadium

As the under-20 football World Cup is to kick off Saturday in Argentina with four matches on the opening day, one Iraqi player has been accused by a female staffer of the La Plata hotel where the delegation is staying of having touched “her intimate parts,” it was reported.

The Asian squad has also been said to have caused havoc at the Dazzler Hotel in the capital of the Argentine province of Buenos Aires on Thursday night.

The woman, who works in the restaurant sector, said that she “was not going to file a criminal complaint.” However, the case prompted FIFA officials to hold an emergency meeting with hotel staff and authorities from the Iraqi consulate and the Buenos Aires provincial government.

Other hotel employees told reporters that the 48-person delegation caused damage to an elevator, activated the fire alarm on purpose and some of its members walked around the corridors in their underwear. It remains to be seen whether FIFA will take any disciplinary action against the Iraqi team.

Iraq is playing three games at the La Plata venue: On May 22 against Uruguay; on May 25 against Tunisia, and on May 28 against England.

Meanwhile, the four matches scheduled for Saturday are Guatemala v New Zealand, and Argentina v Uzbekistan (Santiago del Estero); United States v Ecuador, and Fiji v Slovakia (San Juan).