Oman's national team was close to securing a spot in the Gulf Cup semi-finals after defeating Kuwait 3-1, but Musab Al-Shaqsi's goal celebration played a role in changing the qualification calculations.
Oman entered their match against Kuwait with only one point from the first two games, but thanks to their victory and Iraq's loss to Saudi Arabia, they raised their tally to four points.
The Oman and Iraq teams were tied on points and goal difference, but the former had the advantage due to the fair play rule, having received seven cards compared to eight for the Lions of Mesopotamia.
A card due to celebration upsets the calculations in Gulf Cup 27
After Oman took the lead, Musab Al-Shaqsi scored the third goal, but he celebrated by taking off his shirt, resulting in a yellow card.
Oman had been ahead of Iraq in the fair play metric before this card, but Al-Shaqsi's card brought Oman's total to eight cards, leveling the scales between the two teams in terms of fair play.
As a result, Iraq and Oman were tied on points, goal difference, and number of cards, making a draw the deciding factor to determine who would advance to the semi-finals, according to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
Oman had drawn 1-1 with Iraq in the first round of the group stage, before losing to Saudi Arabia three goals to nil, and then winning against Kuwait three goals to one.
