Bahrain urges Gulf Football Federation to reopen Qatar player eligibility case

The Bahrain Football Association has escalated its challenge over Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo’s participation in their Gulf Cup match, asking the Gulf Football Federation to refer the matter to its disciplinary committee independently.

Madibo played in Qatar’s 2-0 victory over Bahrain in the opening round of the group stage. Bahrain subsequently lodged a protest concerning his eligibility, after FIFA had given the player a five-match suspension for a serious challenge on Canada’s Ismael Kone during the 2026 World Cup.

The disciplinary committee of the Gulf Football Federation rejected Bahrain’s protest because it was not submitted within the required legal deadline of two hours after the final whistle, according to Abu Dhabi Sports Channels.

However, in a new statement published on X, the Bahrain Football Association called on the federation’s general secretariat to exercise its power to make an independent referral over Madibo’s involvement.

“The seventh paragraph of Article 19 of the Gulf Football Federation’s disciplinary and appeal regulations states that the general secretariat has jurisdiction to refer, on its own initiative, violations that were not noticed by the match officials,” the association said.

“It is also confirmed in paragraph eight that failure to make the referral within the specified period does not invalidate the process. The regulations do not make the initiation of a violation dependent solely on the submission of a protest; rather, they grant the general secretariat an independent authority to refer it whenever the matter becomes known to it.”

Bahrain argued that the question over the legality of Madibo’s participation became known to the Gulf Football Federation’s general secretariat once the protest was submitted.

The association also cited paragraph four of Article 55, which it said treats the use of an ineligible player as an offence requiring the player’s team to be deemed to have lost 3-0.

“With the issue surrounding the legality of Madibo’s participation now known to the general secretariat, and given that paragraph four of Article 55 considers the participation of an ineligible player a violation requiring his national team to be deemed to have lost 0-3, it is clear that the general secretariat’s referral authority is intended to address fundamental matters affecting the validity of a match and prevent them from being dependent on an opponent’s initiative,” Bahrain said.

The Bahrain Football Association formally requested that the general secretariat use its authority under Article 19, paragraph seven, and refer the incident to the disciplinary committee.

It asked the committee to establish the legality of Madibo’s participation on its merits, arguing that the earlier rejection of its protest on procedural grounds should not prevent such an investigation.

Bahrain also requested to be informed of the outcome of any proceedings, including the decisions reached.