Qatar beat hosts United Arab Emirates 4-0 to reach the final of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
The win, coming in front of a hostile Abu Dhabi crowd, sealed Qatar’s progress to the title match for the first time where it will face Japan on Friday.
Qatar opened the scoring with Boualem Khoukhi in the 22nd minute with Almoez Ali adding a second 15 minutes later.
Hassan al-Haydos added a third in the 80th minute with a chip over the UAE goal-keeper and Ismaeil sealed Qatar’s progress with a goal in injury time.
The match was marred by crowd trouble twice where shoes and bottles were thrown at Qatari players celebrating after scoring.
The crowd could be heard chanting and booing during the playing of Qatar’s national anthem minutes before the start.
Fans throwing shoes at the Qatari players after they score their 2nd goal
pic.twitter.com/zCxyhZeWOc
— Jordan Gardner (@mrjordangardner) January 29, 2019
UAE had been hoping to reach the Asain Cup final for the second time, but instead look likely to face sanctions after the crowd trouble.
The tournament has been played against the backdrop of a regional dispute, which saw Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut political, diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar and impose a land, air and sea blockade on the Gulf nation in June 2017.
Showing sympathy for Qatar is punishable in the UAE, with a jail term of up to 15 years.
Dubbed the Blockade Derby, the match was the first meeting between the two regional rivals since the start of the Gulf crisis.
Free tickets were distributed among “loyal” Emirati fans on Sunday by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, which bought all the remaining ones for Tuesday’s semi-final.
Meanwhile, non-Emiratis attempting to avail the free entry were turned away, UAE news outlet, The National reported.
Japan is the most successful team in the Asian Cup with four titles, followed by Iran and Saudi Arabia with three apiece.
More to follow
from Trendy News Today http://bit.ly/2GcCiNX
via IFTTT
0 Comments