Iraq dismay at verdict

BAGHDAD // The Iraqi Football Association (IFA) general secretary Ahmed Abbas has expressed his dismay at the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to dismiss the IFA's appeal over Qatar fielding an ineligible player. Qatar have been given the all-clear to continue their World Cup qualifying campaign after the CAS dismissed Iraq's appeal regarding the appearance of Brazil-born Emerson in the March meeting between the two nations. Fifa had earlier determined that although Emerson was unable to play for Qatar, Iraq had taken too long to appeal and, therefore, the result of the match, which Qatar won 2-0, stood. If Iraq had been successful in getting the result overturned, then they would have finished in the top two of the qualifying group and felt they had every right to take Qatar's spot in the final group stages. Abbas is far from happy with the ruling but admits he is not surprised. He said: "We expected such a verdict. The result is not satisfactory as we have submitted all the evidence. "There is no excuse for Fifa to claim that the Iraq FA didn't pay the fees on time because we paid it. I think there was a lot of pressure on the CAS to rule against us, especially after the decision was postponed for two weeks." * PA Sport