The draw for the "Gulf Cup 27" sparked widespread controversy, after it decided Oman's qualification for the semi-finals at the expense of Iraq, following the two teams being equal in points, goals and fair play.
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The Saudi team had secured the top spot in the group with a perfect score of 9 points, while Iraq and Oman entered the final round competing for the second qualifying spot.
Iraq lost to Saudi Arabia 0-2, while the Omani team turned their deficit against Kuwait into a 3-1 victory, bringing both teams to 4 points each.
The tie in points was not enough to determine who would qualify, as the two teams had previously drawn 1-1 in the first round, and were also equal in goal difference, goals scored and goals conceded, according to the final figures for the group.
Reports indicate that the number of yellow cards was also equal, with no red cards.
With the tie still in place, the competitions committee of the Gulf Cup Federation resorted to a draw , which granted Oman a ticket to the semi-finals.
The technical director of the Iraqi national team, Australian Graham Arnold, objected to resorting to a draw and demanded that the FIFA ranking be used, considering that Iraq was ranked higher than Oman.
The Iraqi viewpoint is based on the fact that FIFA uses the world ranking as a late criterion for breaking ties in some of its competitions.
In the Arab Cup 2025, for example, FIFA's criteria stipulate resorting to the latest world ranking after exhausting the criteria of head-to-head matches, goal difference, goals scored and fair play.
However, this does not automatically mean that the Gulf Cup Federation was obligated to apply FIFA's regulations in the 27th Gulf Cup. The tournament has its own organizational regulations, and the Gulf Cup Federation confirmed before the start of the competition that the international rankings were used in distributing the teams into the pots for the tournament draw.
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