On Saturday, the World Cup qualifying match between Iraq and Indonesia ended in chaos, with three players being sent off and the referee being shoved in an angry scene. Former Manchester United star Zidan Iqbal scored the only goal of the match as Iraq won 1-0.
Iraq hosted Indonesia at Al Inma Bank Stadium in Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Sports City, with the visitors looking to keep alive their hopes of playing in next year’s World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. However, the visiting team was far from satisfied with the referee’s performance throughout the encounter, and the result did not qualify them for the tournament.
Referee Ma Ning appeared to be in control during the first hour of the match, with both teams looking for the first goal.
But Indonesia, coached by former Barcelona and Newcastle striker Patrick Kluivert, were left furious 23 minutes before full-time as Iraq defender Zaid Tahseen was only shown a yellow card for dragging down Ole Romeny.
The visiting team were then upset when Indonesian centre-back Kevin Diks was adjudged to have fouled Mercas Doski when he felt the free-kick should have been awarded the other way.
And in stoppage time, Dix believed he should have won a penalty on his side after being grabbed by Tahseen’s arm. However, the referee had already awarded Tahseen a penalty for high footing prior to this incident, and Indonesia were forced to settle with a free kick instead, while the Iraqi player was sent off and received a second caution for the first challenge.
After the final whistle, a large number of players surrounded Ning and made their opinion fully clear to the referee.
Indonesian left-back Shane Patinama was also sent off after a scuffle with Iraq head coach Graham Arnold, despite not even being on the pitch during the match.
As Min was showing Patinama a red card, Indonesian national team coach Smarji ran up to Min on the pitch and shoved him in the back, ultimately resulting in Smarji receiving a red card.
And the sackings don’t stop there, Indonesian midfielder Tom Hay also received his marching orders after a confrontation with Ming.
This result means that Indonesia is now at the bottom of Group B of the AFC World Cup Qualifiers with two losses in two games.
Iraq is scheduled to play Saudi Arabia at the same venue on Tuesday, with the winner of that match guaranteeing a spot in next year’s World Cup. Both teams have earned three points before the match, and Saudi Arabia’s tally of goals means they can secure a spot in the tournament with a draw.
Teams that don’t advance to the World Cup on Tuesday will advance to another qualifying round, giving them another chance to qualify.
