FIFA probe Bahrain’s mauling of Indonesia

Indonesia fans are in jubilant mood despite seeing their team concede ten against Bahrain  [GALLO/GETTY]

Bahrain’s 10-0 victory over a weakened Indonesia team in a World Cup qualifying match will be studied in a ‘routine’ investigation, FIFA said on Thursday.

Bahrain’s win raised suspicions because they needed to make up a nine-goal deficit on rivals Qatar in the group standings to have a chance of advancing to the next round. 

They also needed Qatar to lose their last match on Wednesday, but the Qataris scored an 83rd-minute equaliser to get a 2-2 draw in Iran and advance to the next stage of the Asian qualifying tournament ahead of Bahrain.

“FIFA security will conduct a routine examination of this game and its result,” football’s world governing body said in a statement.

FIFA said an initial probe was justified “given the unusual outcome against results expectation and head-to-head history, and in the interests of maintaining unequivocal confidence in our game.”

“FIFA security will conduct a routine examination of this game and its result” FIFA statement

Indonesia goalkeeper Samsidar was sent off after just two minutes, and Bahrain took the lead from the resulting penalty. The hosts also scored a second penalty in the first half as they took a 4-0 lead by halftime, and continued to pour in goals after the break.

Indonesia had lost all five previous group matches, conceding 16 goals while scoring just three. They also fielded several inexperienced international players in Bahrain after suspending others who play for clubs in the breakaway Indonesian Super League.

The Indonesian football association (PSSI) has been in turmoil in recent years, and launched an unsuccessful bid to host the 2022 World Cup.

FIFA removed Indonesia from the contest midway through the bid process when football officials failed to persuade the government to provide hosting guarantees.