Why was the Iraqi player sent off?

Qatar The referee sent off Aymen Hussein under FIFA rule 12, after celebrating a goal in Iraq's 2-3 loss to Jordan in the round of 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup.

In the 76th minute, after raising the score to 2-1 for Iraq in the match at Khalifa International Stadium on the evening of January 29, Hussein ran near the stands with many home fans to share the joy by using his hands to eat.

According to Sport Star , this gesture seemed to mock the similar celebration of Jordanian players after the opening goal at the end of the first half. Jordanians often eat with their hands when eating mansaf - a dish made from lamb and eggs.

After returning from the pitch, Hussein sat down to eat mansaf once more, while his teammates finished celebrating. Immediately after, referee Alizera Faghani ran to show the Iraqi striker a second yellow card, sending him off. Hussein had already received a yellow card in the 45+3 minute.

Hussein performs the eating gesture on the field, after running out to share joy with fans for the first time, during Iraq's 2-3 loss to Jordan in the Asian Cup round of 16 on the evening of January 29 at Khalifa Stadium, Qatar. Photo: Reuters — Hussein performs the eating gesture on the field, after running out to share joy with fans for the first time, during Iraq's 2-3 loss to Jordan in the Asian Cup round of 16 on the evening of January 29 at Khalifa Stadium, Qatar. Photo: *Reuters*

According to Sport Star , the referee sent Hussein off based on FIFA rule 12, which states that players are not allowed to celebrate excessively, causing a waste of time. Players are also given yellow cards for other celebrating offenses, such as: making provocative, mocking or inflammatory gestures; climbing over fences to celebrate a goal; taking off or covering their head with a shirt; covering their head or face with a mask or other similar item.

Some have suggested that Hussein was punished for using his left hand to pick up food. In some Muslim countries, the left hand is considered unclean. In fact, among the Jordanian players celebrating the opening goal, some also used their left hands.

Iraq leads 2-1 — Hussein scored and received a second yellow card for celebrating too long.

Iraq paid a heavy price for Hussein's red card, in the context of no substitutions. In the fifth and seventh minutes of injury time, Al Arab and then Al Rashdan scored to help Jordan come back to win 3-2, to set up a quarter-final against Tajikistan.

For Iraq, this was a surprising defeat after topping Group D with a perfect record against Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam. Meanwhile, Jordan only entered the round of 16 as the third-placed team in Group E, behind Bahrain and South Korea.

Hussein is still leading the race for the 2024 Asian Cup Golden Boot with six goals. The second-ranked player, Akram Afif (Qatar), has four goals, while Ayase Ueda (Japan), Lee Kang-in (South Korea) and Oday Dabbagh (Palestine) have three goals each.

Thanh Quy (according to Sport Star )

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