THE Fifa Arab Cup third-place playoff was abandoned due to lightning storms by the stadium.
And the winner of the clash was decided by a COMMITTEE, rather than the game being finished elsewhere.
The clash at the 45,000-capacity Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar hosted the match between Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
It was a goalless first half between the sides as they looked to win third place at the tournament, the second edition under Fifa jurisdiction and 13th overall.
However, as players prepared to come out for the second half, Chilean referee Cristián Garay took the decision to suspend the game due to the adverse weather conditions by the stadium.
It was then abandoned without a winner, with Fifa confirming a decision on the winner would be made by a committee.
A Fifa statement said: “The Fifa Arab Cup Qatar 2025 Third Place playoff between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates has been indefinitely suspended due to lightning storms in close proximity to the stadium.
“While the venue retained full operational integrity and the pitch remained in good condition, this action was taken by the referee and match officials to ensure the safety of all the players, fans and staff at the stadium.
“The decision to award the Third Place winner will be decided in due course by the relevant committee within Fifa.”
After a four-hour wait, a decision was finally announced by football’s governing body.
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The Fifa committee declared the third place title would be shared by the two nations.
A statement said: “Following the suspension and subsequent abandonment of the Fifa Arab Cup Qatar 2025 Third Place playoff between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and in line with the relevant Fifa regulations and the Fifa Statutes, the Fifa Men’s National Team Committee has decided as follows:
“The match is declared a 0-0 draw, third place is shared between both teams and the total prize money allocated for third and fourth place will be combined and split equally amongst both participating teams.”
The prize money allocated for third and fourth place would also be combined and split equally between them.
This year the prize fund was a record pot of £27.3million.
The tournament was won by Morocco as they beat Jordan 3-2 after extra time.
