The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the Macau Football Association (MFA) for failing to play the second leg of their first-round match against Sri Lanka in the Asian Football Association’s FIFA World Cup 2022 preliminary competition.
According to a statement by the committee last week, the match between Sri Lanka and Macau, which was due to be played on June 11, has been declared a 3-0 forfeit victory for Sri Lanka, with the Macau Football Association also receiving a fine of CHF10,000 [82,400 patacas] after the committee considered the association liable for the breach of Article 5 of the FIFA World Cup 2022 regulations (related to withdrawal and unplayed or abandoned matches) and Article 56 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (related to unplayed matches and abandonment).
Consequently, according to the statement, Sri Lanka have qualified for the second round of the Asian Football Association’s (AFC) FIFA World Cup 2022 preliminary competition and will participate in the draw that will take place in Kuala Lumpur on July 17.
The fine came after the MFA had banned the local team from travelling to Sri Lanka for alleged security reasons, which reportedly prevented the association from arranging insurance cover for Macau’s players who, however, had expressed their willingness to play in the South Asian island nation at their own risk.
A total of 259 people were killed in a string of Islamist terror attacks on Easter Sunday.(Macaunews)
