November 25: HYDERABAD (PAKISTAN): The hotel fiasco plaguing the West Indies cricket tour of Pakistan escalated today with the tourists complaining of scorpions and cockroaches in their offered rooms.

A three-day match of the West Indians against Habib Bank XI at the Niaz Stadium was shortened to two days when the visitors failed to turn up and then cut to one day when the West Indies refused to travel by road for the last two days. And as if that wasn't enough, overnight rain delayed the start of the 50 over a side game.

``We can't afford to travel six hours daily. It will be very hectic and will take a toll on us,'' West Indies skipper Courtney Walsh said. The first day of the match was called off when the visitors failed to arrive at the ground. The West Indies, who had returned to Karachi after refusing to stay in Hyderabad because of poor accommodation, later agreed to travel by road from Karachi to Hyderabad on the remaining two days.

World Cup referee reveals bribery offer

SAN JOSE: A Costa Rican Fifa referee revealed here yesterday that he was offered $50,000 to help the United Arab Emirates team beat Japan in the World Cup Asian zone qualifier on October 25. The referee Rodrigo Badilla said he had rejected the offer straight away.

``I received an anonymous telephone call in my hotel offering to pay me $ 50,000 if I would help the United Arab Emirates,'' Badilla told AFP. ``I don't know if this was a bad joke or a real bribe. The one thing I am sure of is that the phone call took place,'' Badilla added. The match ended in a 1-1 draw but Japan went on to qualify for the finals after beating Iran in a one leg play-off while the United Arab Emirates failed to qualify.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.