Controversial Asian Cup Match Ends in Dramatic Comeback

Football will always produce debatable calls but, considering this has been the first tournament where VAR has been employed for the entirety of the tournament, things have been relatively smooth sailing thus far.

All that has now changed after a huge moment of controversy changed the complexion of Monday’s round of 16 clash between Iraq and Jordan — which ultimately finished 3-2 to Jordan as they produced a miraculous comeback with two goals deep in injury-time.

In what proved to be a bruising encounter, things were originally as fair-spirited as they could be, and it was Jordan who would take the lead right on the stroke of half-time through a Al-Naimat effort. What followed felt like it would be looked back on as one of the more memorable goal celebrations at the Asian Cup, as Al-Naimat ran off the field of play before gathering with four other teammates and sitting down cross-legged behind the substitutes benches while mimicking the action of eating with one’s hands — as is common practice in many parts of Asia.

Aymen Hussein netted an equaliser for Iraq in the 68th minute and then, eight minutes later, came the moment of high controversy.

With a clinical finish, Iraq’s star striker Hussein would find the bottom corner to put the Lions of Mesopotamia 2-1 ahead before wheeling away to the vicinity of the corner flag, where he would perform the exact same celebration that Al-Naimat had done in the first half. It is easy to assume he did so as a riposte to Jordan, but that is purely down to interpretation.

Hussein did not remove his jersey — the most common act in football that incurs a yellow card for “excessive celebration” — nor did he leave the field of play, which is in fact what the Jordan players did.

Hussein was also facing the touchline, but in a position of the field where he would not have had any opponents in his line of sight, so it is also difficult to see how it might have been “unsportsmanlike conduct” — which would have also warranted a booking. It must also be noted that none of the Jordan team appeared to be particularly offended by Hussein’s replication of their celebration.

Thus, it is understandable why Hussein and the rest of the Iraq team looked incredulous when referee Alireza Faghani proceeded to flash a yellow at him which, given he had already been booked, meant he was sent off.

Faghani is a well-respected official widely regarded as one of Asia’s best referees, with over two decades of experience including the 2018 and 2022 editions of the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup.

Despite Iraq’s valiant efforts, they would concede an equaliser to Al-Nassr in the fifth minute of injury-time and, just when it looked like they might really struggle in extra time, the additional 30 minutes were not even required as they would be left stunned by Al-Saray’s match-winner in the 97th minute.

Jordan deserve praise for the spirit they showed once they were in the ascendancy, but the contest would certainly have been far different had it been 11 against 11, especially given how well Hussein — the competition’s top goal-scorer — was playing.

While the Jordanians are marching on to a quarterfinal meeting with Saudi Arabia, Iraq are heading home. And they will doing so plagued by a sense of injustice as the 2023 edition of the Asian Cup had its first major moment of controversy. What a massive one it proved to be.