Fox Sports
Sri Lanka have entered the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup Joint-Qualifiers after their first round opponents Macau were sanctioned by FIFA for not showing up for the second leg fixture.
Macau had won the first leg played in China PR 1-0, but the Macau Football Association (MFA) had decided not to send their players to Sri Lanka citing security issues ensuing from terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka last April.
The Macau players had come out publicly against their football body’s decision to not send them for the second leg in Colombo and even protested by scoring 39 goals in a domestic match earlier this month.
And now, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned MFA for failing to play the second leg and declared that the fixture will be a 3-0 forfeit victory to Sri Lanka that will send the South Asians into the second round starting September 2019.
“The match between Sri Lanka and Macau, which was due to be played on 11 June 2019, has been declared a 3-0 forfeit victory for Sri Lanka, with the Macau Football Association also receiving a fine of CHF 10,000 after the FIFA Disciplinary Committee considered the association liable for the breach of article 5 of the FIFA World Cup 2022 regulations (related to withdrawal, unplayed matches and abandoned matches) and article 56 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (related to unplayed matches and abandonment),” the FIFA statement read.
“Consequently, Sri Lanka have qualified for the second round of the AFC’s FIFA World Cup 2022 preliminary competition and will participate in the draw that will take place at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur on 17 July 2019,” it said.
Sri Lanka will join Pot 5 ahead of the second round draw along with Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia and Guam.
Seedings for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup Joint-Qualifiers Second Round draw
Pot 1: IRIran, Japan, Korea Republic, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China PR
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, DPR Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Sri Lanka