How FIFA split Olăroiu's national team match, abandoned at halftime: “Split equally”

Last night in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, representative coached by the Romanian Cosmin Olăroiuthey faced each other in the minor final of the Arab Cup. At halftime, the score was 0-0. The second half did not start, the match being abandoned due to torrential rain.

A few hours after the match was abandoned, FIFA, the governing body of the competition, announced that 0-0, the score when the game was stopped, was recorded as the final result.

At the same time, that both teams were symbolically ranked 3rd and that the money for 3rd and 4th place was put in a pile and divided equally between the combatants.

This is how FIFA decided Cosmin Olăroiu's national team match

“Following the suspension and subsequent abandonment of the Arab Cup 3rd place play-off between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in accordance with the relevant FIFA regulations and statutes, the FIFA Women's National Match Committee has decided:

The final result is a tie, 0-0, 3rd place is shared by the teams and the total prizes for 3rd and 4th place will be combined and divided equally between both participating teams”, says the FIFA statement.

The total prize pool of this competition was 36.5 million US dollars. Normally, 3rd place would have received 2.8 million and the losing team in the minor final 2.1 million. Thus, the 4.9 million will be divided equally, 2.45 million each.

The competition was won by Qatar, who defeated Jordan in the final, 3-2. It was 2-2 after 90 minutes of play, and the Moroccans kicked in extra time. Goal scorer Abderrazak Hamdallah was the hero of the evening, with a “double”. The 35-year-old forward has scored 334 goals in 418 games throughout his career.