FIFA strikes Laos-Philippines friendly from the records

FIFA has discredited the friendly match between Laos and the Philippines, which was held last September 10, as one or more of the officials for the match (the referee, linesmen, and fourth official), were not recognized by the international governing body of football. As such, the game has been removed from their online list of official fixtures. The match, which Laos won 2-1, was marred by poor officiating and a brawl on the pitch. It will now be scrapped from the history books as an official match between the two nations. It was Laos’ first international match since they were soundly beaten by China 7-2 and 6-1 in the two legs of the Second Round of World Cup Qualification back in July, 2011. It was also the first match for Laos under new Japanese Coach Kokichi Kimura who must have first been pleased with the team’s spirit and manner of play. Laos played possession football well, formed triangles, and regularly eased past the Azkals’ front line and midfield. That was, of course, before the match descended into fistfights and chaos, something the officials take part of the blame for, along with the players, for not dealing with previous incidents properly. Particularly, that is when one Laotian player punched Misagh Bahadoran in the face, chipping his tooth. In the end only a yellow card was shown, suggesting that the referee had not seen the incident or did not follow FIFA rules whereby any player striking another must be sent off. This means that Laos will not get any of the ranking points they would have picked up from the win. As the Azkals lost, by FIFA mechanisms, they would have not won or lost any ranking points as FIFA award zero points for a loss in whatever match is played. The Philippines’ ranking would not have changed either way. The important thing for the Azkals was to test themselves against this kind of physical opposition – and they managed that, even if the result was not what they wanted. They must accept that whether this was an official game or not, the Philippines lost. It also means that Misagh Bahadoran’s red card will no longer see him suspended for any future games, nor will any video evidence be used to retroactively punish any of the Philippine or Laotian players who took part in the brawl and would have otherwise been sent off had the officials seen things properly.   In a public apology to Laos for the Philippines’ part in the brawl, team manager Dan Palami tweeted: “Thank you and congratulations to our hosts for being the better team tonight. It was a heated, physical, and highly competitive game that we wanted to win badly, but these do not excuse some of our players for losing their temper and composure, despite ANY provocation. “We truly regret and apologize for this incident. We believe that football remains a valuable tool to promote peace and bridge differences, especially when the games are played in the true spirit of fairness and professionalism.” - AMD, GMA News