Iraq were cleared to take their place in today’s Asian Cup semi-final against South Korea after the Asian Football Confederation dismissed a protest from Iran.
Iraq beat their old foes 7-6 on penalties after the teams finished tied at 3-3 in Friday’s quarter-finals but Iran later submitted a formal protest, asking for the result to be overturned.
In the protest, Iran alleged that Iraqi midfielder Alaa Abdul-Zahra should have not been allowed to play because he had submitted a positive doping test while playing for an Iranian club side last year.
The Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Disciplinary Committee met in Sydney yesterday to discuss the case while the Iranian team remained in Australia in case the verdict went their way.
Late in the evening, the AFC announced the protest had been dismissed and Iraq would take their place against South Korea in the semi-finals.
“The AFC Disciplinary Committee heard oral evidence from two officials of the Iran Football Federation, deliberated the matter based on its merits, and decided that the protest was unfounded.
“The protest was therefore dismissed,” the AFC said in a statement.
Iraq team officials refused to answer questions about the case during their pre-game news conference at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium yesterday, saying only that the matter was closed.
Iraq coach Radhi Shenaishil dismissed the case as a ploy by Iran to get the result overturned.
“It’s something they created. It hasn’t effected us in any way,” he said.
Shenaishil said he was more concerned about getting his team ready for the match after a short turnaround.
The odds were stacked against Iraq before the tournament started with the team unable to train together or play matches at home because of the war in their homeland.
But Iraq overcame similar obstacles to win the Asian Cup in 2007 – beating South Korea in the semi-finals – and Shenaishil said he was hoping for another miracle in Australia.
“There’s no secret,” he said.
“When you work together you can produce something great for your country.
“It’s a special situation, we know our country needs us to win... just reaching the semi-finals will inspire people and we hope to keep winning.”
The semi-finals
Today: 10am South Korea vs Iraq.
Tomorrow: 10am Australia vs United Arab Emirates.