Qatari team may face sanctions

CAIRO - 15 June 2017: The Qatari national team faces the risk of disciplinary sanctions by FIFA due for wearing T-shirts with Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Prince of Qatar, printed on them. The incident took place before e match against South Korea on Tuesday in Doha in the eighth round of the group A Asian qualifiers for the Russia 2018 World Cup.

The players entered the pitch wearing T-shirts with the sentence Tamim Al-Majd printed on them. That picture became a symbol of the Qatari struggle after the beginning of the diplomatic crisis in the Middle East which resulted in the severance of relations between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab of Emirates and Bahrain on one side and Qatar on the other.

Midfielder Hassan Al-Haidos also raised the same T- shirt to the crowd after scoring the first goal with a free kick in the 25th minute of the game.

FIFA prohibits any political, religious or commercial messages on the players' T-shirts.

The match ended with the Qatari team defeating South Korea in a surprise 3-2 win, placing Qatar in fifth place in the group stage.