Kuwait (AFP)
The Kuwait Football Association decided to form an investigation committee into the “unacceptable” events that accompanied the Blues’ match against their Iraqi guests, as part of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, and suspended its Secretary-General and Director of Public Relations. In a statement broadcast on Tuesday evening, the association expressed “its deep regret for the events that took place during the match,” addressing the large crowds that attended Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium: “We apologize to them for the obstacles they were exposed to.”
The union was subjected to harsh criticism from all sides shortly after the end of the match, due to the poor organization and chaos that accompanied the match as a result of tickets not being linked to seat numbers, in addition to a large number of fans entering without tickets, and a number of those who did have tickets being denied entry.
The match was held in difficult conditions, with temperatures reaching more than 40 degrees Celsius, without drinking water being provided to the attendees, which led to cases of fainting and suffocation. The fans appealed to the officials to provide them with water, according to video clips that spread on social media.
The stadium, which opened exactly 14 years ago and can accommodate 60,000 spectators, was mostly full more than three hours before the start of the match despite the high temperatures, after all tickets were sold out, according to the local federation, including 5,000 for the away fans.
The union’s statement continued that it decided in its emergency meeting to form an investigation committee, suspend the union’s Secretary-General (Salah Al-Qana’i) and the Director of Public Relations and Media (Mohamed Bou Abbas) from work, and refer them to investigation, promising to take all legal measures against those who are negligent and cause chaos.
The union confirmed its full awareness of the “unacceptable events” that the fans were exposed to, and it offers its deepest apologies to them. It promised that the investigation committee would submit its report “to the council within 48 hours.”
It is noteworthy that several reports indicated the possibility of the union and all its members submitting their resignation, in addition to postponing the country’s hosting of the “Gulf 26” in December and January, due to what happened in the match against the “Lions of Mesopotamia.”
The Minister of Information and Culture and Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi, directed the General Sports Authority to contact the Football Association to determine the reasons for the negatives and poor organization.
Iraq, who were down a player since the seventh minute due to expulsion, snatched a precious goalless draw from host Kuwait in the second round of Group 2 of the third round of the Asian qualifiers. Jordan leads with 4 points, on goal difference ahead of South Korea and Iraq, while Kuwait comes in fourth (2) ahead of Palestine (1) and Oman (no points).
In the third round scheduled for October 10, Kuwait will host Oman, Palestine will host Iraq, and South Korea will host Jordan.
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