BANGKOK - The Asian Handball Federation (AHF) will meet next week to decide whether to expel Japan and South Korea for contesting a re-run of an Olympic qualifying tournament it refuses to recognise, the AHF said on Wednesday.
This week's replay, ordered by the International Handball Federation after the original contest was marred by allegations of biased refereeing, is unlawful and those who took part face stiff penalties, AHF executive director Ahmed Abu Al Lail said.
"We sent a letter to all the countries involved telling them not to participate," he told Reuters by telephone from Kuwait.
"Japan and South Korea have decided to participate, so we will call an extraordinary meeting of our executive committee to decide what we will do about this."
The original qualifying tournament was fraught with claims that the Kuwait-based AHF illegally switched European referees for Middle Eastern match officials.
Japan and South Korea say the referees were flagrantly biased and consistently ruled in favour of Kuwait and Kazakhstan, who secured Olympic berths after winning all their matches.
The AHF, led by controversial Kuwaiti prince Sheikh Ahmad Fahad al-Sabah, says the original tournament was fair and the replays were ordered without a proper investigation.
Angered by Japan's decision to go ahead with the qualifiers, Sheikh Ahmad, who also heads the Olympic Council of Asia, is reportedly threatening to derail Tokyo's bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
South Korea's women secured a place at the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday after beating Japan 34-21 in Tokyo. The two countries meet again in the men's final later on Wednesday.
