KUALA LUMPUR: The Disciplinary and Ethics Committee of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has sanctioned the United Arab Emirates Football Association (UAE FA) with a fine of $150,000 following some unsavoury incidents that occurred during their AFC Asian Cup 2019 semi-final match against Qatar on 29 January at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Under its Disciplinary and Ethics Code, the AFC has found the UAE guilty of being irresponsible for poor spectator conduct (Article 65) and the organisation of the match (Article 64).
As per its Safety and Security Regulations, the FA has been charged for disturbances caused in distribution of beverages (Article 31) and public passageways (Article 33).
Additionally, the UAE has been ordered to play one match on its home turf without any spectators by closing its entire stadium during the AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers.
UAE lost a rancorous semifinal against arch-rivals Qatar, who went on to win the championship on their soil. The diplomatic fallout between the two West Asian heavyweights was visible amongst both the countries’ fans as well. Many spectators and journalists from Qatar decided to skip the match due to the hostile atmosphere prevailing as well as for ethical reasons.
