Despite having shaved to look younger, Baghdad airport officials knew there was something fishy about Iraq’s under-16 football squad headed on Monday for a regional tournament in the Jordanian capital.
Several of the 23 players for the West Asia Football Federation (WAFF) tournament starting on Wednesday were found to be overage, said the Iraq Football Association (IFA), which immediately sacked the squad officials.
Officials at the airport confiscated nine passports after suspicions were raised over the dates of birth, an Iraqi football source told AFP, on condition of anonymity.
He said the players had shaved as instructed by team officials to look younger.
“The technical and administrative staff of the under-16s team have been dismissed and action will be taken against those players who falsified their age,” said the IFA, which investigated after having been alerted by airport officials.
It was not the first such case of cheating in Iraqi football.
According to the association, 18 players were suspended earlier this year after also having tried to pass off as younger than their true age by tampering with their identity papers.
Iraq U-16 squad grounded after being found to be overage
Iraq U-16 squad grounded after being found to be overage
Undav scores again as Stuttgart sink Frankfurt to go third
- A dipping header from Rasmus Kristensen gave Frankfurt an early lead
- The victory took the German Cup holders to third, a point behind second-placed Borussia Dortmund
BERLIN: Nikolas Nartey nabbed a late winner and Deniz Undav continued his hot form as Stuttgart beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 at home on Tuesday to climb to third in the Bundesliga.
A dipping header from Rasmus Kristensen gave Frankfurt an early lead but Ermedin Demirovic pounced on a goalkeeping error and Undav’s deflected effort helped Stuttgart wrestle back control of the match before half-time.
Bundesliga debutant Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab brought Frankfurt level but Nartey’s 87th-minute strike, his first Bundesliga goal, put the hosts back in front.
The victory took the German Cup holders to third, a point behind second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who cruised to a 3-0 victory over Werder Bremen stretching their unbeaten run to 10 league games.
Frankfurt have struggled this season after last campaign’s third-placed finish, their best result in three decades.
Kristensen connected with a corner to put his side in front after five minutes, but Frankfurt ushered Stuttgart back into the game when goalkeeper Kaua Santos spilled a routine catch, allowing Demirovic to slice home.
Undav put his side in front 10 minutes before the break, wrong-footing the Frankfurt defense and blasting a low shot which took a thick deflection into the bottom corner.
Undav, who has nine goals and two assists in his past eight league games, forced two desperation saves from Santos and flashed just wide of the post in the second half.
Amaimouni-Echghouyab levelled things up just three minutes after coming on but his effort was bested by another debut goal minutes later, when Nartey tapped in from close range.
Elsewhere, the match between Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen was postponed just two hours before kick-off, the third Bundesliga game canceled in the space of a week due to wild winter weather across northern Germany.
