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UAE Football Association clarifies Ahmed Ali age after Iraqi protest
The Iraqi Football Association has lodged an official objection after Sunday's 2012 London Olympics qualifier with UAE, claiming the game's only goalscorer was ineligible.
Feb 8, 2012 2:13:00 AM
By Ben Somerford
Getty
The UAE Football Association (UAEFA) has moved to clarify complaints from the Iraqi national team which claimed its opponents fielded an ineligible player in the 1-0 Emirati win in 2012 London Olympics qualifying in Doha on Sunday.
The Iraqi Football Association (IFA) claimed the game's only goalscorer Ahmed Ali was a player who was beyond the legal under-23 age for Olympic qualifiers.
It's understood the IFA put forward an official objection to the Asian Football Confederation on Ali's age. An IFA source said they believed Ali was born in 1984.
However, UAE FA moved quickly to clarify the situation citing that Ali's player profile on his club Bani Yas' website was incorrectly filled out.
Ali was actually born on January 28 1990, meaning he is eligible at just 22 years old. The striker has missed most of the 2011-12 season due to a tibia injury, which meant he missed much of UAE's Olympic qualifying campaign already.
The Iraqi Football Association (IFA) claimed the game's only goalscorer Ahmed Ali was a player who was beyond the legal under-23 age for Olympic qualifiers.
It's understood the IFA put forward an official objection to the Asian Football Confederation on Ali's age. An IFA source said they believed Ali was born in 1984.
However, UAE FA moved quickly to clarify the situation citing that Ali's player profile on his club Bani Yas' website was incorrectly filled out.
Ali was actually born on January 28 1990, meaning he is eligible at just 22 years old. The striker has missed most of the 2011-12 season due to a tibia injury, which meant he missed much of UAE's Olympic qualifying campaign already.
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