Asian Cup organizers have promised to open an investigation after soccer fans threw shoes and bottles at Qatar’s players during their semifinal victory over the United Arab Emirates.
After scoring most of the Qatari goals, the host audience threw their full-fledged shoes and bags at the Qatar team while celebrating their goals, as well as during the match.
The Asian Football Confederation says it is “conducting a thorough investigation into events” at the game and “once that investigation has been completed the AFC will decide on the appropriate next steps.”
The severe loss came in the wake of a Gulf diplomatic crisis after the boycott of the State of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.
Some 38,000 Emirati fans greeted the national team with booing while the national anthem was played, while the fans of Qatar were absent because they were banned by the authorities in Abu Dhabi.
Qatar team was qualified for the first time in their history and will face Japan on Friday at the Zayed Sports City Stadium.
It is expected that the continental union will impose strict penalties against the UAE for the events of the match and won by the Qatari team.