JAKARTA - Iraq wants the 2026 World Cup Qualification against Palestine next month to be moved from the Jordanian capital, Amman, after also rejecting Palestinian proposals to hold matches in Jerusalem.
The last international football match played in the Palestinian territories was in October 2019. Palestinians have since held their home matches in neutral places, such as Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, and Malaysia.
Palestine will host Iraq in the Group B match of the Third Round of the 2026 Asian Zone Qualification World Cup on March 25, 2025. After the proposal to play matches in the Palestinian territories was rejected, FIFA proposed Amman as a neutral place.
The Iraq Football Association (IFA) said in a statement on Thursday, February 27, 2025, local time that it had written to FIFA asking for the match to be moved to another city.
You see, according to IFA, playing in Amman will violate FIFA's own rules about neutral places.
SEE ALSO:
"This decision raises serious questions about the integrity and justice of competitions, given the highly competitive nature in Group B," reads IFA's statement.
"Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine are direct competitors in the group and the difference between Iraq and Jordan in the standings is currently very thin."
Iraq is in second place in the group with 11 points, ahead of Jordan in third with a two-point difference and trailing the South Korean top with a difference of three points.
The top two teams in the group advanced directly to the 2026 World Cup finals.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) released a statement on the same day that it regretted Iraq's decision not to allow the match to take place at the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium in Al-Ram, Jerusalem.
PFA said FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) had inspected the stadium and agreed games could be played there, but only with Iraqi approval.
"We are shocked to learn that our colleagues at the Iraq Football Association have unilaterally decided to refuse to play in Palestine and immediately communicate this to AFC and FIFA without consulting PFA," the statement said.
"Despite this decision, we reaffirm our firm commitment to regain our right to hold matches in our homeland - the rights we have fought tirelessly for to be secured and enforced over the years."
IFA has a basis for the rejection. According to them, although eager to have a match in beloved Palestine and to support today's Palestinian sport, they decided to refuse due to a lack of VAR technology in stadiums.
Palestine is at the bottom of Group B with three points after six matches. Neither Palestine nor Jordan had previously qualified for the World Cup finals.
Meanwhile, Iraq only tasted the World Cup final once when it was held in Mexico in 1986.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
