Khalid Al-Muqrin, head of the competitions committee at the Gulf Football Federation, has lifted the lid on the drama behind Tuesday evening's draw between Oman and Iraq, the coin toss that decided which of the two would reach the semi-finals of the Gulf Cup "Gulf 27".
Oman beat Kuwait 3-1. Iraq, meanwhile, went down 2-0 to Saudi Arabia as Group One reached its conclusion.
It came down to a draw after one moment in the Oman v Kuwait match changed everything. Musab Al-Shaqsi ripped off his shirt to celebrate Oman's third goal against Kuwait and picked up a yellow card, and that booking breathed fresh life into Iraq's hopes.
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That card left Oman and Iraq level on goals, points and the fair play tally. Only then did the draw take place, and it sent Oman through.
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Some had claimed the committee told Oman they were through before the draw even happened. Al-Muqrin was put to the question and flatly denied it: "That did not happen, Oman were not informed, their joy at qualifying is something that belongs to them. The committee met after the match and we examined the reports and confirmed to the representatives of both countries that they were level on cards (8 each)," according to the Al-Riyadiah newspaper account on X.
He continued: "The qualification criteria and the regulations are known before the tournament begins, by resorting to a draw in this case."
Transparency was the theme when he spoke to Alkass channels: "We allowed the representatives of the Iraqi and Omani teams to inspect the balls that would be used to carry out the draw as a form of transparency, because we have nothing to hide."
Al-Muqrin also underlined the significance of it all: "This is a historic edition because this situation is happening for the first time in the Gulf Cup. But everything is proceeding in accordance with the regulations."
His message on the rules was blunt: "Everyone knows the regulations before the tournament begins, and the world ranking is not among the criteria approved for deciding qualification."
Iraq's officials had objected to the draw. On that, he offered nothing: "I know nothing about this matter."
He signed off by shifting the focus onto the players: "The competitions committee has nothing to do with the cards, that matter is for the referees. Players must be more aware that fair play is an important factor in football," pointing out that this had happened before in other tournaments.