Iraqi player Zidane Iqbal has opened up about the clash that involved him and several Kuwait players after the second-round group meeting between the two sides at the Arabian Gulf Cup “Gulf 27”.
Iqbal said that the confrontation came after he and his family faced abuse during the match.
Iraq won the thriller 3-2. Iqbal opened the scoring, while Saif Al-Rashid and Karrar Nabil added the second and third goals. Yousef Nasser scored both of Kuwait’s goals.
Speaking to the media afterwards, Iqbal said that some Kuwait players and fans directed offensive phrases at him and his family and mocked his father’s Pakistani origins. He raised the matter with Kuwait captain Yousef Nasser.
“I spoke with the Kuwait captain, and I told him I have no problem with your players, but the players were saying that my father is Pakistani, and this is true,” Iqbal said. “I am a Muslim, praise be to God, and we are all one nation, whether you are from Pakistan or Iraq or anywhere, there is no problem, we all follow Islam.”
“If you are going to describe my father as Pakistani, and say very rude things about my mother, then first make sure you win, because if I win I will celebrate,” he added. “And if I respond to them inside the pitch they will say that Zidane is stirring up trouble, but at the World Cup I did not stir up any trouble, and when we play against other teams I do not stir up trouble.”
Iqbal said competition on the pitch must stay within the bounds of respect. “Football is based on respect, and I agree with that one hundred percent, but if you are going to insult my family and diminish their respect, then no problem, but make sure you win, because after the end of the match everything is over,” he stated.
He also addressed his celebration in front of the Kuwaiti fans and pointed to the boos he heard before kick-off. “I was hearing the Kuwaiti crowd booing before the match, no problem, I will score and then you will see,” he said. “And when I celebrated by looking at them, they did not say anything, they were just looking at me, so I said: well, excellent, now they will remember the Pakistani boy who scored against Kuwait.”
Iraq captain Ayman Hussein helped calm the situation after the match. He took Nasser into the Iraq dressing room to settle the dispute. A video clip captured Iqbal during the reconciliation, and the two players embraced before the tension ended.
Iraq, the 2025 holders, face Saudi Arabia next Tuesday in the third and final round of the group stage. They drew 1-1 with Oman in the opening round before beating Kuwait.
Kuwait, who lost to both Saudi Arabia and Iraq, play their final group match against Oman.
