Ineligible player hurts Qatar's Olympic bid

Doha: Qatar's hopes of winning a spot in this year's Olympic football event has been dealt a blow after Fifa overturned a draw in Oman for fielding an ineligible player, awarding the home side a 3-0 victory.

The November 27 London Olympics qualifier ended in a 1-1 stalemate but Qatar's Abdul Aziz Hatim should not have been on the pitch in Muscat.

The midfielder had been booked in the second round of qualifiers against India and picked up a second yellow card in the round three game with South Korea.

The Qatar Football Association has been fined $7,600 while the team have now slipped to third place in Group A with two points, the Asian Football Confederation said yesterday.