BASRA, Iraq - Iraq’s national football team were crowned Gulf Cup champions on Thursday after defeating Oman in a thrilling contest, marking their first triumph in the tourney in 35 years.
A goal scored by rising star Ibrahim Bayesh in the 24th minute mark gave the Lions of Mesopotamia a lead that would stand up until the 10th minute of injury-time, before an Omani penalty silenced Iraqi fans on the overfilled Basra International Stadium in the final breaths of the match, forcing the game into extra-time.
A penalty-kick successfully converted by midfielder Amjad Attwan put the Iraqi team ahead at the 116th minute as the team were on route to be declared champions, yet a header from Oman's Omar al-Malki equalized the game three minutes later, spoiling the celebrations of the host nation once again and seemingly forcing the game into penalty shootouts. However, Iraq's Manaf Younis had a different say in the matter, as he successfully headed in his team's third goal at the 122nd minute mark, finally crowning the Lions of Mesopotamia champions after an insanely thrilling bout.
The victory marked the fourth time Iraq has taken the tourney home in their national team’s history.
-A flawed final-
However, disastrous conditions outside the stadium due to an insufficient ticket selling system meant that thousands of fans who had bought tickets could not enjoy the fixture.
“By God, I have never seen such terrible conditions. As a Basrawi [Basra native], I am ashamed of my city and its organization,” Hussein Ali, a fan who was denied entry despite owning tickets, told Rudaw English outside the stadium in the morning.
Tens of thousands of people without tickets were bussed to the stadium’s vicinity on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, resulting in a massive stampede as those with and without tickets alike rushed to the entry points attempting to secure a seat.
“Iraq is not capable of hosting such events. I can very easily send my ticket to 1000 friends and they can print it and enter,” a furious Mohammed Saadoun said on his way home after being unable to enter the stadium.
At least one was killed and sixty more wounded during the uncontrollable stampede outside the stadium gates, according to state media. Some of the injured are in critical condition.
Iraqi authorities had reportedly announced to the fans that the stadium gates will open at 7 AM, despite the matchup commencing at 7 PM.
“There were hundreds of fans without ticket who brought blankets and attempted to sleep inside the stadium overnight,” a member of the security forces said.
“Thankfully, we were able to scramble them out,” he added.
The security forces were largely ineffective against the endless swarms of fans attempting to access the stadium, and resorted to bearings with batons and other objects to counter the barrage.
-Happiness still prevails-
Yet in crisis-hit Iraq, a country whose people have largely known nothing but war, the cup triumph was an experience that has been memorialized into legend.
“Iraq! Iraq! Iraq! We did it, by God we won the Cup and we are so proud of our Lions of Mesopotamia,” another ecstatic fan screamed at a public Basra square.
The tournament, held in Iraq’s southern city of Basra, began earlier this month with eight teams from the Gulf taking part in the prestigious competition. The only other time Iraq hosted the Gulf Cup was in 1979, from which the Iraqi team emerged victorious.
