You guys crack me up. Really. The reason Syria's home games are played in Malaysia is that that is where AFC HQ is located. Arabs have been trying to relocate it to an Arab country for decades and if they were successful the games would have been hosted by an Arab country instead. Then you would have cooked up another conspiracy theory if your game was held in September under 50 degree Celsius heat- Aussies had to endure that.
It is not just Syria but Iraq as well. AFC were trying to find homes to Syria and Iraq but things did not work out. Syria wanted to play in Iran and then Thailand or something and the latter declined to host. So as an AFC host country Malaysia was FORCED to accept the role. And the stipulation was that all games for each country should be played in the SAME stadium to minimize variation and maximize fairness to all opponents - barring some kinds of natural disasters like Typhoon or earthquakes. Heavy rain does not count as one as every reasonable person should agree.
It is not just Syria but Iraq as well. AFC were trying to find homes to Syria and Iraq but things did not work out. Syria wanted to play in Iran and then Thailand or something and the latter declined to host. So as an AFC host country Malaysia was FORCED to accept the role. And the stipulation was that all games for each country should be played in the SAME stadium to minimize variation and maximize fairness to all opponents - barring some kinds of natural disasters like Typhoon or earthquakes. Heavy rain does not count as one as every reasonable person should agree.
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