Former UAE international referee Yaqoub Al-Hamadi stated that the decisions of Japanese referee Yusuke Araki in the match between UAE and Iraq, which ended with a 2-1 victory for the Lions of the Tigris, had a significant and direct impact on the result of the game and the White's 1-2 loss, consequently eliminating them from the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Al-Hamadi told "Al-Ittihad": "The match was extremely difficult, and the White team played well, managing to impose their style of play for most of the game. However, it was clearly observed that some players from the Iraqi national team, most notably Hussein Ali, made dangerous tackles in the 34th and 37th minutes. The player committed reckless actions and deserved a red card, and consequently should have been sent off. However, the referee overlooked this and only issued a yellow card. This decision directly affected the White team, as the player's dismissal would have given the UAE team a numerical advantage for more than 53 minutes, which would have undoubtedly changed the course of the match." Al-Hamadi added: "I want to praise the first assistant referee for performing his role professionally and effectively. He was precise in his decisions, including the first goal scored by Kaio Lucas, which was not offside. He also disallowed another goal by the same player due to a clear offside, which commands respect for his technical decisions in important matches." Al-Hamadi also addressed the penalty kick awarded against the UAE team, saying: "The decision to award the penalty was 100% correct after a VAR review, as the player's hand was not in a natural position and prevented the ball from going towards the goal. The decision was fair and involved no incorrect judgment from the referee, but rather a proper application of the laws."
