Minister sues sports paper

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi minister of youth and sports on Wednesday has filed a lawsuit against a newspaper for publishing the results of an investigation into the national football’s failure in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, according to the head of the Iraqi Society to Protect Journalists’ Rights. “The lawsuit has been filed against Riyada wa Shabab (Sports and Youth) Newspaper for publishing the results of investigations conducted by a committee set up by the cabinet to probe the reasons behind Iraq’s departure from the 2010 World Cup qualifiers,” Ibrahim al-Siraji told IraqiNews.com news agency. The editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Jaafar al-Alouji, has been summoned to appear before the court on Sunday (Jan. 25), Siraji added. Iraq played six games in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and won only two of them. SS (P)/SR 1