Sport | Football
UAE&'s London 2012 chances brighten
Fifa penalises Iraq for fielding ineligible player
- By Alaric Gomes, Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:00 February 8, 2012
Dubai: The UAE's prospects of reaching the next stage of qualifying for the London Olympics football tournament received a huge boost yesterday after their 2-0 home loss to Iraq in November last year was overturned.
The UAE were awarded maximum points for the game as the Iraqis have been found guilty of fielding an ineligible player.
Yousuf Al Sarkal, Vice-President of the UAE FA, was overjoyed at the turn of events and he told the media that he hoped this twist would goad the UAE team to go all out for full points from their remaining two matches.
"This means so much for us now. We had just five points after we defeated Iraq 1-0 last week and now we are sitting tied at the top of the group with eight points.
"This means we are in a much better position than we were and our chances of making it to the London Olympics is much better than before," Al Sarkal said.
World governing body Fifa ruled that Iraqi player Faisal Jasem was ineligible as he played against the UAE despite having collected two yellow cards in previous matches. UAE coach Mahdi Ali's campaign for London 2012 had started on a slow note following goalless draws against Australia and Uzbekistan on September 21 and November 23, before their defeat to Iraq at Al Ain, which has now been overturned.
Ahead
The UAE and Uzbekistan are now tied at the top of Group B with eight points each, though Uzbekistan are ahead on goal difference. Australia are third with three points, while Iraq are now bottom with just one point.
Last week Oman were awarded a 3-0 victory after Qatar were deemed to have fielded an ineligible player, also in their November 27 fixture. The match had initially ended in a 1-1 draw.
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