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 | | Iraq are the current Asian champions, but may miss out on 2010 World Cup qualifying |
Fifa have suspended Iraq from international competition after the Iraqi government dissolved their National Olympic Committee and all national sport federations last week.
Iraq are scheduled to play Australia in a World Cup qualifier in Brisbane on Sunday but that match, and any thought of qualifying for South Africa 2010, are now in doubt after the government in Baghdad dissolved the Iraq Football Association. "The Fifa Executive Committee decided to suspend the Iraqi Football Association (IFA) as of today," Fifa said in a statement on the sidelines of their annual congress in Sydney.
The ban takes immediate effect and the executive committee will recommend to the Fifa Congress, which meets in Sydney on Friday, that it suspends Iraq from all tournaments for one year. Iraq would therefore miss their remaining 2010 World Cup qualifiers and this year's Beijing Olympics. "If the [Iraqi] government has not acted we will have no alternative but to suspend Iraq immediately." Sepp Blatter,
Fifa president Sepp Blatter, Fifa president, said the executive board, which was holding a two-day meeting ahead of the annual Congress, had clear guidlines regarding government intervention into national football associations. No back down "If the [Iraqi] government has not acted we will have no alternative but to suspend Iraq immediately," Blatter told reporters before the meeting. "But I'm very confident, more than hopeful, that the situation will change. Can you imagine the reaction of the [Iraqi] people if we had to suspend them from football? "I think the minister should think twice about what he has done." Any ban would increase Australia's chances of making it through to the next stage of World Cup qualifying but the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) would lose about $2.88 million in ticket sales and sponsorship. "Obviously we want to be in the World Cup but we also want to beat Iraq," Frank Lowy, FFA chairman, said. "We will also lose money and the fans will be disappointed if the game does not go ahead. So we are waiting with bated breath to see the outcome." Jasem Mohammed Jaafar, Iraq Sports Minister, told Reuters on Sunday that the government would not back down on its decision, despite the threat of a ban.
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