by Jojo Malig, abs-cbnNEWS.com
MANILA, Philippines - The manager of the Philippine Azkals is considering suing the sources of a rumor claiming that 4 members of the national football team raped a woman.
Dan Palami said he is now consulting lawyers for their next move.
"I've asked the lawyers to check if we'll have sufficient basis for action," he said.
Palami reiterated his stand on the issue.
"All these accusations are baseless," he said.
He added that he has talked to the players accused of involvement in the issue.
"They have a different version to tell. So I said, let's stop this," he added.
Palami said the rumor's source was German Paul Weiler.
He said Weiler "purports to be a PFF (Philippine Football Federation) consultant, and (who has) since then been denied and disclaimed by the PFF. "
"We have to rely on the credibility of the source and I know that the source is not credible," he added.
"(Weiler) has been applying as a consultant dito sa Azkals and I've turned him down repeateadly," Palami said.
A check by abs-cbnNEWS.com on Weiler's background showed that he has been hounded by allegations of fraud and wrongdoing through the years.
Football blogs and website forums dating back to 2006 accused Weiler of making up stories with regard to his official positions in sports organizations.
Weiler has dismissed the allegations against him, calling them "degrading."
Palami, meanwhile, said facts must be established before he decides on his next step.
"I don't want to proceed based on alleged action. Until now, everything is alleged," he said.
Michelle Madrigal seeks support for Azkals
Meanwhile, actress and model Michelle Madrigal has denied insinuations in gossip blogs that she was the girl allegedly raped by the Azkals members.
"Don't believe everything you read online or on the papers," she said in her Twitter account. "It's all rumors and accusations."
"Think first, sa tingin niyo ba kung nangyari talaga yun will be active on Twitter? The boys don't need this right now. Let's pray that they win the game versus Kuwait," Madrigal said, referring to the Philippines' FIFA World Cup second round qualification tie against Kuwait later this month.
Madrigal issued the statement, even as a glamor model whose name was also dragged into the scandal cried foul on Thursday.
The model said she was removed from the roster of a men's magazine show allegedly because of the rape rumor.
She has also secured the services of a lawyer to study her legal options.
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