AFC's Strong Reaction To The Iraqi Coach Beating Incident After Failing In The Last 16 Of The 2023 Asian Cup

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) reacted to the riots at the Iraqi vs Jordan press conference (doc. AFC).

JAKARTA - The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) reacted strongly to the incident of a commotion that occurred at a press conference against Iraqi coach Jesus Casas.

The incident occurred during a press conference after Iraq lost 2-3 to Jordan in the last 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup. The negative result of the match on Monday, January 29, 2024, at the Khalifa International Stadium then also knocked Iraq out of the competition.

A terrible incident then occurred during a press conference after the match. Jesus Casas was almost attacked by Iraqi journalists. Luckily, security officers were alert and prevented a number of Iraqi journalists from attacking Casas. This incident then made the AFC react strongly.

"The AFC strongly condemns all kinds of behavior that cannot be regulated and are aggressive and does not tolerate these actions," the AFC statement said on its official website quoted Wednesday, January 31, 2024.

"We believe in creating an environment where journalists can engage in their important work covering Asian football with professionalism and mutual respect," the AFC continued.

After being investigated, it was later discovered that the anger of Iraqi journalists was called because of the ban that Jesus Casas conducted interviews with the country's media. The coach actually preferred to talk to the Spanish media before fighting Jordan.

The commotion at the press conference made the AFC punish those deemed to have rioted.

"The AFC is deeply disappointed by the actions seen during the press conference following the match between Iraq and Jordan."

"We have taken a quick decision to ban irresponsible people from covering, not only the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar, but also the AFC tournament in the future," the AFC said.

"Accreditation is a privilege accompanied by responsibility to comply with ethical standards. Anyone who violates this standard will face consequences."

The AFC hopes that the punishment for those deemed to have sparked a commotion in the press conference can be used as an important lesson for all parties.