Shafaq News/ The explosion wave of the Iranian missiles that struck the capital of the Kurdistan Region, Erbil, in the early hours of last week propagated beyond the arena of geopolitics into the arena of sports.

Following the attack, the Iraqi dream of hosting the remaining home tie in the final group stage of Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying has been dashed.

Iraq had been cleared to host the UAE at al-Madina International Stadium in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The Group A tie on March 24 has now been switched to the neutral venue of the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The decision comes less than a month after the Iraq Football Association announced that FIFA, which had banned the country for much of the past 19 years from hosting international games due to security concerns, had given Baghdad the go-ahead to stage the crucial game.

Losing the home advantage for Iraq and the emotion of the return to Baghdad to face the UAE in such a critical fixture could have been a defining moment both for the country’s football and 2022 qualifying.

On March 16th, the Iraqi Football Association (IFA) announced that FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) had opted to move the anticipated match between the Iraqi national team and its Emirati counterpart to a neutral venue following the recent tension.

On the same day, the IFA revealed "diplomatic" efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, to uncover the motives of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA decision.

Huge question marks were raised about whether the Emirati side attempted to force such a decision or it was a spontaneous move from the "FIFA".

IFA's media official said he was surprised by the decision given the fact that the Zambian team was allowed to play the game scheduled against the Iraqi national team on Friday.

"The Zambian team that won Africa's Cup of Nations is in Baghdad at the moment. It held its training session this evening and will play against our team on Friday," he said, "IFA is waiting for the Foreign Ministry's actions. The President and Prime Minister are keeping tabs on the matter as well."

The Minister of Youth and Sports, IFA president Adnan Dirjal, said he was taken aback by the FIFA and AFC decision.

"We contacted the FIFA, AFC, and the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF) to seek a revision on the decision," he said in a statement to the press, "we hope that UAE exhibits a positive attitude in this regard."

"If they do so, Iraqis will always reminisce their position, especially since they were supportive of holding the match in Baghdad," Dirjal added.

So far, there have been no signs that the Asian and International organizers of the game are considering a rescission. Last Thursday, a statement by IFA ascribed the decision as "irrational and lacking sportsmanship", urging both federations to watch the game that will bring together the Iraqi and Zambian national teams and "Immediately retract" it.

As soon as they heard the news, Iraqi fans gathered at al-Zawraa stadium, where the Iraqi national team was training to express their support while chanting slogans rejecting the venue change.

The former IFA president and AFC Executive member Abdul Khaleq Masoud downplayed the feasibility of filing a complaint against FIFA's decision, dismissing Dirjal and the current staff of IFA as "inexperienced".

"Ofcourse, the IFA has the right to challenge the decision of the FIFA, but I believe it would not come to fruition. The FIFA can provide a counterargument that will undermine the complaint," he said, "filing a complaint has a less than 10% chance to work out."

"In spite of the time constraints and poor chances for success, proceedings to annul the FIFA decision shall be initiated," Masoud said, "the diplomatic efforts might play a relatively positive role in this regard."

The coach of the Zambian team, the Croatian Aljosa Asanovic, took the side of Iraq in the controversy with the FIFA and AFC.

"Baghdad is safe. The streets of the capital enjoy peace and security. The people are quite kind and generous. Iraq deserves to play at home," he said in a press conference ahead of his team's match against Iraq.

For his part, AGCFF president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, expressed discontent with the AFC decision to hold the fixture on a neutral venue.

AGCFF president said that he will contact Dirjal to express support to Iraq and convey its eligibility to hold the qualifier match at home. Al Thani said that the AGCFF will fully cooperate with the IFA and will make the necessary contacts to make sure that the "lions of Mesopotamia" hold the remaining qualifiers on Iraqi soil.