The Iraqi Football Association decided, on Sunday, to freeze its activities in the West Asian Federation in protest against the latter’s decision to exclude the Al-Rafidain Lions youth team from the semi-finals of the West Asian Championship.

The West Asian Federation attributed this decision to what it considered a manipulation of the ages of the players, and it also confirmed in an official statement that Iraq is considered a loser to Lebanon and Jordan.

The statement stated that, “While the Iraqi Federation denounces this unfair decision against the junior national team, it affirms that it reserves its legal right to defend before the Asian and International Federations, in addition to possessing evidence that refutes the unfair decision of the West Asian Federation, and it will publish the official papers that confirm the soundness of its position.” ".

He added: “According to what was decided by the West Asian Football Federation, the Iraqi Football Association decided to suspend all its activities and participation in all West Asian Football Federation tournaments as a result of the policy of this federation, which was far removed from the professionalism and principles of sports work that we had hoped it would follow.” West Asian Federation.

For his part, the head of the Iraqi delegation, Jalal Khalaf, said, “This decision is artificial and will not shake our resolve and take away our rights in broad daylight.”

The West Asian Federation had punished the Iraqi national team by excluding it from the junior championship competitions due to a disciplinary decision related to the disqualification of one of the team’s players.

The Iraqi national team qualified for the semi-finals in the tournament held in Jordan, after defeating the latter 2-1.

Before that, the Iraqi team tied with its Lebanese counterpart with a score of 2-2 in the opening of its matches in the tournament, before the disciplinary decision was issued that removed it from the tournament.

The Disciplinary Committee said, in an official statement, that it was proven, according to the report of the first medical examination that took place on September 6, 2024, and the second medical examination that took place on September 7, 2024, that the Iraqi national team player, Ahmed Ali Abdullah, is not eligible to participate in the junior championship. Because he violated the instructions and regulations of the tournament and the disciplinary regulations, as he exceeded the legal age for competitions.

The West Asian Federation calculated that Iraq lost in the matches it played against Jordan and Lebanon, and fined the Iraqi Federation 2,500 US dollars. It was decided to deprive the player of participating with the Iraqi national team for 6 matches, and fined him an amount of 1,000 US dollars. These are non-appealable penalties, according to the federation’s statement. West Asia