Iraqi players refuse to rise and shine for trip to airport

Date January 9, 2015 - 11:28PM
Dominic Bossi

The Hairdryer

It is probably a good thing the Lions of Mesopotamia are not playing before 7pm this tournament because the title challengers are anything but early risers. Sources close to the Iraqi squad suggest the players did not welcome the idea of waking at 5am for travel purposes and forced their officials to arrange a new itinerary at short notice to allow them to sleep in and enjoy a leisurely morning. A group with a reputation of disdaining early starts, the players are understood to have refused to wake before the crack of dawn to catch a bus from their base in Wollongong to Sydney Airport for an early morning flight to Brisbane where they play Jordan on Monday. The Iraqi FA and the local organising committee had to find more than 30 spare seats on a later flight to Brisbane on Thursday to accommodate the wishes of their squad. Sources reported a frantic scene at their team base on Thursday morning with officials desperately trying to put together last-minute travel plans to reach Brisbane before their official team welcome at 3.30pm. It is understood the well-rested team eventually boarded a flight at 2pm

The biggest drawcards flocking like seagulls to Melbourne

Iran, so far away from home, are proving the second-hottest ticket this summer. After the Socceroos, "Team Melli" fans have purchased the most tickets of all the competing nations, with the local Iranian community in Australia the driving force behind the sales. Community leaders have been working with the local organising committee as part of a promotion scheme, with one Melbourne individual solely contributing to the distribution of more than 3000 tickets for their opening game against Bahrain on Sunday. The Iranian diaspora in Australia is proving a patriotic and close-knit community that arranged for up to 10,000 tickets for Iran's second game against Qatar on Thursday in Sydney. The Japanese community are the third-highest take-up for tickets, with China, South Korea and Iraq close behind.

Border problems

Fans of many Middle Eastern nations are understood to have been deterred from making the trip down under for the 2015 Asian Cup due to the price and visa restrictions for many nationalities. Uzbekistan are one nation set to play in stadiums without the support of their citizens after many struggled to obtain tourist visas for Australia. Even those who could get visas approved in time were deterred by application fees ranging between $130 and $335, on top of already hefty airfares during peak holiday season. Visa issues affected more than just the fans, with Palestine defender Haitham Dheeb reportedly denied an exit permit from Israel to travel to Australia for the competition. The 28-year-old remains unlikely to take part in the tournament despite being named in the 23-man squad for Palestine.

Muscat treated like a regular Joe

Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat and the club's football operations manager Paul Trimboli were almost prevented from watching the Socceroos train outside their office after security initially refused to let them inside AAMI Park due to a lack of accreditation. The two former national team players, some of the most recognisable faces in the game, required the intervention of FFA officials and the local organising committee to get past intrepid guards. The Victory's club offices are adjacent to the AAMI Park playing field but in walking a matter of metres, the pair were treated to the same reception as any other punter as they were denied a chance to say gidday to former colleague Ange Postecoglou.

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/iraqi-players-refuse-to-rise-and-shine-for-trip-to-airport-20150109-12kxd3.html