A disagreement over the recording of a pre-Asian Cup friendly between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait led to a last-minute cancelation of the match on Saturday, robbing both teams of vital match practice before the tournament which starts on Friday.
The players had lined up in the tunnel ahead of the game on the Gold Coast, but it was called off after the UAE refused to agree to Kuwait’s request to record the match.
In a statement on its Web site, the UAE Football Association said both sides had previously agreed to play the friendly behind closed doors without recording, broadcasting and the presence of the media or public.
“The Kuwaiti delegation has unfortunately declined to adhere to the previous agreement under which an official letter was sent to the Kuwaiti FA on December 15 and clearly stipulated that the match should not be telecast, recorded or open for the media and the public, but the Kuwaitis insisted on filming the game and this was against the purposes of the technical staff of the UAE national team,” the staement said.
The differences seemed to have been sorted out with the players lining up in the tunnel, but the friendly did not proceed.
“At this stage, the Kuwaiti team’s manager escalated the situation and threatened that the match could be canceled unless their requirement is responded to, and since the Kuwaiti last-minute demand conflicts with the objectives of the UAE national team, the persons in charge have rejected the Kuwaiti request and the match was canceled in the process,” the statement said.
Kuwait have failed to advance beyond the group stage in their past two Asian Cup appearances in 2004 and 2011, and it gets no easier this time around as they face hosts Australia, South Korea and Oman in Group A.
Kuwait also have a new coach in former Tunisian international Nabil Maaloul after Brazilian Jorvan Vieira was sacked in November last year following a poor Gulf Cup of Nations.
The UAE have had a more settled run under coach Mahdi Ali, who was appointed in 2012, and have been drawn in Group C with Iran, Bahrain and Qatar.
Kuwait, who play Australia in the tournament opener at Melbourne’s Rectangular Stadium on Friday, opted to host a training session at the ground instead.
The UAE begin their campaign on Sunday against Qatar in Canberra.
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