SYDNEY, May 26 (Reuters) - Iraq faces a year in the soccer wilderness after FIFA suspended it from all international competitions on Monday and issued an ultimatum to Baghdad.
The executive board of world soccer's governing body announced it had imposed the ban after the Iraq government dissolved its National Olympic Committee and national sport federations in breach of FIFA and Olympic regulations.
The board will recommend that the FIFA Congress, which meets in Sydney on Friday, suspends Iraq from all tournaments for 12 months, but left the door open for a reprieve if Baghdad reversed its decision by 1400 GMT on Thursday.
'The FIFA Executive Committee decided to suspend the Iraqi Football Association (IFA) as of today .... following the governmental decree passed on May 20 which dissolved the Iraqi National Olympic Committee and all national sport federations, including the IFA,' FIFA said in a statement.
'The FIFA Executive Committee also decided .... the case of the Iraqi Football Association would be presented to the FIFA Congress on May 30 for suspension until the FIFA Congress in 2009, namely one year.
'However, the suspension decided upon today may be lifted if FIFA receives by May 29, midnight (Sydney time), written confirmation from the Iraqi government that the decree has been annulled.'
The chances of an agreement being reached appeared slim when Iraq Sports Minister Jasem Mohammed Jaafar said on Sunday that the government would not back down on its decision, despite the threat of a ban.
Any suspension would destroy Iraq's dream of competing at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
Iraq were due to play Australia in a qualifier in Brisbane on Sunday then again in Dubai next week and if they miss those matches, Australia would be given the points.
The Iraq team were in Thailand preparing to leave for Australia when FIFA announced the decision.
Australian officials said they were also hoping for a resolution so that Sunday's World Cup match would proceed.
Any cancellation would increase Australia's chances of making it through to the next stage of qualifying but the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) would lose about A$3 million ($2.88 million) in ticket sales and sponsorship.
'Our strong hope is the matter is resolved as quickly as possible and the two teams can meet on the field,' the FFA's head of corporate and public affairs Bonita Mersiades Mersiades said.
'In the meantime the Socceroos are continuing as if it's business as usual.'
The Iraqi team provided their war-torn homeland with a rare moment of celebration in 2007 when they won the Asian Cup in one of sport's great modern fairytales.
Few people had given Iraq any chance of winning the tournament after a haphazard preparation brought about by the war at home and a hastily-assembled team that included Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish players.
But they defied seemingly impossible odds to reach the final in Jakarta where they beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 and Hamad said it was crucial for the people of Iraq that the team were able to play.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...539046&cc=5901
The executive board of world soccer's governing body announced it had imposed the ban after the Iraq government dissolved its National Olympic Committee and national sport federations in breach of FIFA and Olympic regulations.
The board will recommend that the FIFA Congress, which meets in Sydney on Friday, suspends Iraq from all tournaments for 12 months, but left the door open for a reprieve if Baghdad reversed its decision by 1400 GMT on Thursday.
'The FIFA Executive Committee decided to suspend the Iraqi Football Association (IFA) as of today .... following the governmental decree passed on May 20 which dissolved the Iraqi National Olympic Committee and all national sport federations, including the IFA,' FIFA said in a statement.
'The FIFA Executive Committee also decided .... the case of the Iraqi Football Association would be presented to the FIFA Congress on May 30 for suspension until the FIFA Congress in 2009, namely one year.
'However, the suspension decided upon today may be lifted if FIFA receives by May 29, midnight (Sydney time), written confirmation from the Iraqi government that the decree has been annulled.'
The chances of an agreement being reached appeared slim when Iraq Sports Minister Jasem Mohammed Jaafar said on Sunday that the government would not back down on its decision, despite the threat of a ban.
Any suspension would destroy Iraq's dream of competing at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
Iraq were due to play Australia in a qualifier in Brisbane on Sunday then again in Dubai next week and if they miss those matches, Australia would be given the points.
The Iraq team were in Thailand preparing to leave for Australia when FIFA announced the decision.
Australian officials said they were also hoping for a resolution so that Sunday's World Cup match would proceed.
Any cancellation would increase Australia's chances of making it through to the next stage of qualifying but the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) would lose about A$3 million ($2.88 million) in ticket sales and sponsorship.
'Our strong hope is the matter is resolved as quickly as possible and the two teams can meet on the field,' the FFA's head of corporate and public affairs Bonita Mersiades Mersiades said.
'In the meantime the Socceroos are continuing as if it's business as usual.'
The Iraqi team provided their war-torn homeland with a rare moment of celebration in 2007 when they won the Asian Cup in one of sport's great modern fairytales.
Few people had given Iraq any chance of winning the tournament after a haphazard preparation brought about by the war at home and a hastily-assembled team that included Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish players.
But they defied seemingly impossible odds to reach the final in Jakarta where they beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 and Hamad said it was crucial for the people of Iraq that the team were able to play.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...539046&cc=5901
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