Friday 07/November/2025 – 04:46 PM
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee decided:FIFA“Issuing a set of sanctions against the backdrop of the events that accompanied the qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup.
FIFA suspends the UAE national team manager for 16 matches and punishes the Qatar national team player due to the events of the World Cup qualifiers
At the forefront of the penalties was the suspension of Matar Al-Sahbani, a member of the administrative staff of the UAE national team, for 16 matches and a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs, in addition to the suspension of the Qatari national team player, Tariq Salman, for two official matches and a fine of 5,000 Swiss francs, based on Articles 14 and 14.1 of the disciplinary regulations issued by FIFA.
The punishments of Al-Sahbani and Salman go back to the events that took place in the UAE national team’s confrontation with Qatar in the Asian playoff, which ended with Al-Anabi’s victory (2-1) and its qualification to the 2026 World Cup finals scheduled to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, while the Sons of Zayed will play two fateful matches against the Iraqi national team on November 13 and 18 for the qualification card for the global playoff.
The committee also imposed a fine of 11,500 Swiss francs on the Saudi Football Federation due to its violation of Articles 17 and 17.5 related to order and security inside stadiums, as a result of lighting fireworks during the match between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, which ended in a goalless draw and saw the Greens officially qualify for the World Cup.
FIFA regulations stipulate that the sanctioned parties have the right to appeal before the International Federation Appeals Committee, with the possibility of requesting a temporary freeze on the implementation of the penalty until the final ruling is issued, provided that the appeal is submitted within 21 days from the date of official notification of the decision.
If the appeal is rejected, those concerned have the right to resort to the International Court of Sport (CAS) to appeal the decision.
