FIFA has cancelled two World cup qualifying matches for Kuwait after previously suspending the team last year. The organization announced the news Monday and said that there has been a "disciplinary case" opened against the country's soccer federation.
Kuwait was previously suspended in October due to "government interference." FIFA announced that the matches coming up against Laos and South Korea would not be played. Kuwait also did not play an earlier World Cup qualifier against Myanmar that was counted as a forfeit by the nation. The world governing body of soccer said that the matches for Kuwait "cannot take place as things stand."
The statement said that FIFA has taken the suspension of Kuwait "into account" regarding the decision to cancel the upcoming matches. The statement also said that the issues surrounding the cancellations will be "referred to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for its consideration." The nation now could have to forfeit both upcoming matches and may also have to pay a fine imposed by FIFA.
The match against Laos was scheduled for March 24, while the match against South Korea was scheduled for March 29. The soccer organization kept Kuwait from voting in the recent FIFA election after the nation was suspended last year. The election brought Gianni Infantino to take over as the new head of FIFA.
Kuwait currently is in second place in World Cup qualifying in Group G, sitting eight points back of South Korea in the standings. The team is tied in points with Lebanon, but has a better goal differential overall. Myanmar and Laos are the bottom teams in the standings with four points, and one point respectively.
World Cup qualifying officially started last March and will continue through November 2017 for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The tournament in Russia will start on June 14 and will take place in 12 different venues across 11 cities in the country. The final is expected to be played in Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium.
The current World Cup qualifying group leaders for the Asian Football Confederation standings include Saudi Arabia, Australia, Qatar, Iran, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and North Korea. Kuwait is in good position to qualify, but with the matches cancelled moving forward, there is uncertainty about whether the team will be eligible to make it into the World Cup.
