Football | FIFA takes Macau out of World Cup for refusing to play

FIFA has removed Macau from qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, sending Sri Lanka to the next round by default.

The Macau Football Association (MFA) refused to send its team to Sri Lanka this month, citing security concerns after terrorist attacks in April and a level 2 travel warning posted by the Tourism Crisis Management Office. Macau led 1-0 after the first leg.

In response to the decision, several footballers from the Macau team petitioned the MFA, asking to be held “solely responsible for all the dangers to life, health, property and other related matters that occur in Sri Lanka, and have nothing to do with the Macau Special Administrative Region Government and the Macau Football Association.”

Some footballers on the team threatened to never play again if they were not allowed to participate in the match.

FIFA says its disciplinary panel ruled Macau must forfeit the second leg 3-0 for failing to play. The Macau federation was also fined 10,000 Swiss francs (about MOP82,000).

Sri Lanka joins a 40-team lineup in the next stage of World Cup qualifying. Eight five-team groups will be drawn on July 17 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Group winners and the four best runners-up advance to a final Asian qualifying round. Four teams then qualify for the World Cup in Qatar while another team can qualify in an intercontinental playoff. DB