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| An Oman fan is restrained as he argues with a Bahrain player sent off in added time [AL JAZEERA] |
Joyful scenes as hosts Oman beat Bahrain 2-0 to qualify for the semi-finals of the Gulf Cup were marred by ugly clashes between coaches, players and fans at the final whistle.
A match that had been played in good spirits descended into anarchy in added time as two Bahrain players were sent off – one of whom paused in the tunnel to exchange insults with an Oman fan in the stands above as police moved in.
Rival rage
And when Oman coach Claude Le Roy entered the pitch to congratulate his players at the end he was confronted by raging rival manager Milan Macala, who charged up to him and waved a finger in his face before storming down the tunnel.
Other Bahrain officials had to be shepherded away from Le Roy, who condemned accusations that he had directed a foul-mouthed volley of abuse at the opposition dugout in what has been a growing feud between the two teams.
The flashpoints failed to dampen the spirit of the victorious Omanis, who cavorted round the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in front of delighted fans for 20 minutes at the end of Saturday's match.
Star goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi, who plays for Bolton Wanderers in the English Premier League, spoke to Al Jazeera on the pitch after giving teammates piggybacks around the perimeter running track.
On top of the world
"If you want to know what the tournament means to Oman, just ask these fans. It's like the World Cup for us," he said.
"It was a hard decision to leave the Premier League and come here, but it is good for me and Bolton as I get to play five games in a short space of time.
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| Al Habsi has his heart set on delivering the cup to Oman [AL JAZEERA] |
"Oman have worked very hard to get here, I'm here and now it's all about the Gulf Cup."
Czech Macala, who led Oman to the last two Gulf Cup finals, had been infuriated before this match after arriving for a Bahrain training session on Friday night only to find Oman already using the pitch.
His fury only heightened by the defeat that sees Bahrain exit the competition along with group A rivals Iraq – who drew 1-1 with Kuwait in the night's other match – Macala held a brief press conference in English in which his words were almost entirely obscured by his heavy accent and the level of his rage.
Hot on his heels was Le Roy, who slammed the behaviour of his predecessor.
F-word banned
"In my life I have a rule – I never say one bad word to anybody," he said.
"The coach says that I said, 'fuck you'. I never say that in my life.
"Everything I say in the match is registered. I said these two words: 'play football'.
"I'm tired of people who are only there to make a show. That's not the job of a coach. It's not the job of a coach to make excuses.
"Before we played Kuwait (in the first match) we were waiting for the bus for 50 minutes to go to training, and I did not say one word.
"I respect so much everybody. Football is a game, I like to respect everybody and I'm very angry about some behaviours."
The Frenchman added that he had ended Friday's training session when Bahrain arrived but it had not been enough to placate Macala's team.
'Liars'
"I heard about all the trouble it created, so much is happening and some people are really liars," he said.
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| Bader Al-Maymani uses his goal to show support for the Palestinian cause [AFP] |
Oman went into this game knowing a draw would be good enough to put them within a match of the final – while Bahrain had to win, or hope that in drawing they were given a helping hand by Iraq in the other match.
Their hopes dimmed on 13 minutes as home striker Emad Al-Hosni was brought down on the edge of the box.
Midfielder Bader Al-Maymani waited for his teammate to finish writhing on the turf before curling the free kick cooly into the top corner beyond the reach of Bahrain keeper Alsayed Jaffar.
'Hearts with Gaza'
Al-Maymani ripped off his top to reveal a t-shirt bearing the words 'Our hearts with Gaza' in Arabic in a show of solidarity with Palestinians caught in the ongoing Israel offensive.
He then bowed his head to referee Bernard Link as the inevitable booking for removing his shirt came his way.
With Kuwait winning 1-0 across the city at the Royal Oman Police Stadium, Bahrain knew they needed three points and kept Oman on the back foot for much of the match.
Alsayed Jalal saw a looping effort hit the bar after half time while a number of full-blooded if non-malicious challenges saw Frenchman Link continually reaching for his yellow card.
Substituted on 71 minutes, striker Al-Hosni had not even taken his seat when Oman made it 2-0.
Al-Maymani picked up the ball from the whistle and surged through midfield to find Fawzi Dorbin with a through pass.
Telescopic
The rangy midfielder used his Patrick Vieira-esque telescopic legs to take the ball past Jaffar for a simple finish.
As Bahrain's hopes disintegrated so did their discipline, with the added-time sendings off of Mohammed Hussein and Jalal for dangerous tackles sparking the furious scenes at the end as Hussein indulged in a bout of finger-pointing and shouting with an incensed Omani fan.
But the drama was a sideshow to the majority as thousands of Omanis took to the streets of Muscat, waving flags, singing and blocking the highways by dancing in the middle of the road.
Iraq equalised through Alaa Abdulzahra in the second half of their match with Kuwait following Khaled Khalef's opener.
The Asian champions go home with a solitary point from their three matches, while Kuwait qualify in second place to play the winners of group B on January 14.
Oman will play the group B runners up – either Saudi Arabia, UAE or Qatar – on the same day for a chance to take their first Gulf Cup on January 17.
The final group B matches take place on Sunday, with the Saudis playing UAE and Qatar facing bottom team Yemen, who sacked coach Mohsen Saleh on Friday.
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