Two Iran soccer players flogged for moral corruption

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Two members of the Iranian national soccer team have received dozens of lashes for "moral corruption", the state-owned Iran newspaper said on Saturday.

It said unnamed players had been identified by videos and photographs found in a raid on an illegal Tehran brothel. One of the players received 170 lashes and the other 70. Six players were given cash fines.

Prostitution is illegal in Iran, which is governed by strict Islamic Sharia law. Flogging is a common form of punishment for moral crimes.

The players confessed their crimes and vowed to lead an honourable life. They said they had been invited to a party after their elimination from the 1998 World Cup finals in France where they had been "trapped" in the "vice network".

The newspaper said the court procedures took 15 months to complete, but did not say when the sentences were carried out.