Iraq is out of 2010 World Cup qualifying because of 11 days and a $2,672 administrative fee.
That, and a healthy dose of FIFA politics.
There has not been much to cheer for in Iraq recently, except a national soccer team that continues to defy all logic and obstacles. Only last week did the team resume training in Baghdad for the first time since U.S. tanks rolled into the city in March 2003, and the team was forced to practice and play “home” games in neighboring Gulf countries.
But Iraq won't be training for the next round of World Cup qualifying after Monday's decision by the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration of Sport to deny an appeal against Qatar for using an ineligible player. CAS' reasoning? The appeal could not go forward because Iraq was 11 days late with its FIFA appeal fee of $2,672.
Some background:
Qatar beat Iraq 2-0 on March 26 but started a naturalized Brazilian forward named Emerson in jersey No. 10. It later was revealed that Emerson is actually Marcio Passos de Albuquerque, who was detained by Brazilian authorities in 2006 for allegedly using a fake birth certificate to make him three years younger and change his name to Marcio Emerson Passos. And Marcio Passos de Albuquerque had played for Brazil's under-20 national team in 1999.
FIFA allows players to switch allegiances if they play for a youth national team, but only up to age 21. After that, it's one player, one country.
Use an ineligible player in an official match (such as World Cup qualifying), and FIFA rules are clear: A team “found guilty – shall forfeit the match in question” and “victory and the resultant three points will be awarded to the other team.”
Give Qatar a loss and Iraq a victory in the March 26 match, and Iraq – not Qatar – advances to the next round of Asian qualifying for 2010.
So Iraq's soccer federation wrote a letter to FIFA raising an “objection.” On June 9, FIFA's Disciplinary Committee ruled that Emerson, indeed, is ineligible to play for Qatar but “acquitted” Qatar of any wrongdoing.
Iraq filed an appeal and claimed it had paid the administrative fee of 3,000 Swiss francs. FIFA said it had not received the payment and, when it finally did on July 4, it was more than a week later than regulations allow. On those grounds, it denied Iraq's appeal. CAS took FIFA's side yesterday, and Iraq – the reigning Asian Cup champion – was officially out of the qualifying tournament for the 2010 World Cup.
Now consider two things:
1. The president of the Asian Football Confederation is Mohammed bin Hammam, who is from Qatar and is a member of FIFA's powerful executive committee. He also is a close ally of FIFA president Sepp Blatter and was instrumental in Blatter's two successful re-election campaigns.
2. Qatar, an oil-rich Persian Gulf emirate with a population of 824,789 and the world's highest per-capita income, is notorious for “hiring” athletes and quickly naturalizing them for its national teams.
In 1999, Qatar reportedly paid $1 million to the Bulgarian weightlifting federation for eight athletes, one of whom – Angel Popov – won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics under the Arabic name of Said Saif Asaad.
In 2003, Qatar lured Kenyan steeplechaser Stephen Cherono and changed his name to Saif Saaeed Shaheen. He won the gold medal at the 2003 and '05 World Championships.
Four years ago, Qatar hired respected Frenchman Philippe Troussier as national coach. Troussier surveyed the homegrown talent and declared that importing foreigners is “probably the only means to one day qualify Qatar for a World Cup.”
Soon, three Brazilians were flying to Doha to sign $1 million contracts. Under pressure, FIFA's emergency committee stepped in and altered its rules to require that players have an “obvious connection” to their adopted country.
Qatar claims it knew nothing of Emerson's multiple identities. Never mind that Emerson was playing for Qatari club Al-Sadd in 2006 when, on his way back to Qatar from Brazil, he was apprehended by police over the birth certificate snafu.
“We didn't make any mistake,” Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani, the president of the Qatar Football Association, told reporters. “If there is any side who made a mistake, then they should be punished. But that's not us.”
It never reached that point, though. FIFA and CAS never fully considered Iraq's appeal, never able to get past the technicality of the late payment. So Qatar advances to Asia's fourth round of World Cup qualifying; Iraq is out.
Yesterday, FIFA issued a four-paragraph statement about the controversy. The headline: “FIFA welcomes CAS decision on Iraq appeal.”
