Why did Iraqi players receive a red card after celebrating a goal?

Striker Aymen Hussein was sent off after scoring the second goal, causing Iraq to lose to Jordan.

In the 76th minute, when the match score was 1-1, striker Aymen Hussein received the ball from a cross on the left wing and scored diagonally to put Iraq ahead of Jordan. After celebrating, this player suddenly received a second yellow card, thereby receiving an indirect red card and having to leave the field.

The referee indirectly issued a red card to Aymen Hussein

According to the video recording of Hussein's celebration, he sat cross-legged and then made the gesture of bringing food from the ground to his mouth with his left hand. Referee Alireza Faghani (Australian, Iranian origin) immediately carded the striker wearing shirt number 18.

Sport Star newspaper explained the referee's card in this situation of Aymen Hussein: "Rule 12 of FIFA penalizes wasting time and staging celebrations. Although players are allowed to express emotions when score a goal but the celebration must not exceed the allowed level."

Some other opinions said that Hussein's celebration depicted behavior that is considered taboo in Islam, so the referee punished him immediately.

However, the final explanation must wait for BTC to announce.

Aymen Hussein's celebration

After the match, coach Jesus Casas was upset: "In any big tournament there are always celebrations. The player scores and the referee cannot draw a card for his celebration. We all see the players." Jordan also celebrated similarly but no penalty card was given. That was a decision that affected us."

"Playing without players created a big problem for us. The team has run out of substitution rights and has finished making changes in the lineup. However, I take responsibility for this loss," said the Western military leader. Spain added.

Aymen Hussein should have played the role of "hero" but became a "criminal" who caused Iraq to lose the war. During extra time, Yazan Al Arab and Nizar Al Rashdan scored respectively to give Jordan a 3-2 victory, thereby qualifying for the quarterfinals.

Aymen Hussein currently has 6 goals, leading the list of top scorers of the 2023 Asian Cup. The two players behind Hussein are Akram Afif and Ayase Ueda with 3 goals. However, this duo still has a chance to improve their performance when the Qatar and Japan teams compete after Iraq.

Situation video (Copyright of FPT - Vietnam):