By FIFA Decision: Cancellation of UAE vs. Saudi Arabia Match in Arab Cup Due to Weather Conditions

The UAE Football Association announced that the match between the national team and their Saudi counterpart to determine the third place in the ongoing Arab Cup tournament in Doha was officially canceled by a decision from the international federation "FIFA" due to storms and heavy rains that hit Doha today, flooding the pitch of Khalifa International Stadium.

The first half had ended in a goalless draw before the match was suspended for 150 minutes due to the unpreparedness of the pitch to resume play.

In an attempt to get the match back on track, the Chilean referee Christian Garay held a coordination meeting with the match observer, where it was decided to extend the stoppage period twice, each lasting 30 minutes, while maintenance teams intensified their efforts to remove the accumulated water with the participation of about 100 workers.

Despite intensifying the water drainage process, which lasted about two and a half hours, the stadium could not return to a suitable condition to safely resume the match.

When the referee asked both teams to continue, the coaches Romanian Olario Cosmin of the UAE and French Hervé Renard of Saudi Arabia refused to resume play to preserve the safety of the players and protect them from potential injury risks.

Based on the insistence of both parties on their stance, the tournament organizing committee officially canceled the match and submitted a detailed report on the events surrounding the match, in preparation for the final decision regarding the determination of the third place.

It is worth noting that the Arab Cup tournament regulations do not include a clear clause related to procedures in such emergency cases, which complicated the position of the organizing committee.

Sources confirmed that the final decision will not be made by conducting a draw between the two teams, nor is it likely that the match will be replayed the following day, given that the tournament competitions conclude with the final match between Jordan and Morocco scheduled at 8 PM today.

The first half of the UAE vs. Saudi Arabia match was played under normal conditions, as the UAE team played with a different tactical vision than previous matches, chosen by their coach Olario Cosmin, who adopted a 4-4-2 formation, focusing on wing play as the main offensive option to threaten the Saudi goal, with the duo Bruno Oliveira and Sultan Adel, abandoning the previous 4-2-3-1 approach based on penetrating through the center via Nicolas Jimenez and Lucas Caio.

Cosmin's tactical gamble almost succeeded early when Ali Saleh advanced from the left side exploiting spaces, moving forward to shoot from inside the box, the ball rebounded from goalkeeper Raghd Al-Najjar in front of Yahya Al-Ghasani near the goal, but he strangely missed the chance by shooting over the crossbar at the 12th minute.

Salem Al-Dawsari managed to reach the net of goalkeeper Hamad Al-Maqbali before the assistant referee's flag was raised to cancel the goal due to offside at the 20th minute.

As time passed, possession advantage shifted to the Saudi team, with the UAE defense subjected to repeated tests, especially through crosses, but they handled them successfully without exposing Hamdan Al-Maqbali's goal to a real threat.

Conversely, a new opportunity arose for the national team from a quick counterattack on the left side, where Rubin passed the ball to Yahya Al-Ghasani, who attempted a "double backheel" shot, but it did not find its way into the net at the 33rd minute.