Doha: The six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plan to launch an official complaint with FIFA for categorising them under the ‘Persian Gulf’ instead of the ‘Arabian Gulf’ on its website.
According to the Saudi daily Okaz, FIFA replaced the ‘Arabian Gulf’ on its website to ‘Persian Gulf’ recently, a move that has received bitter criticism from GCC-based sports officials. Some officials said that the latest move was ‘illogical’ and one that affects the ‘sovereignty of the GCC countries’.
The information appears in the ‘country information’ section on the FIFA website, which describes the neighbouring seas and oceans around Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman as the ‘Persian Gulf’. Ali Al Zahrani from the Saudi Football Federation said that the federation was ‘disappointed by the mistake’ made by FIFA, and that official measures will be taken to address the issue. “We are disappointed by this mistake. It should not be repeated. We are going to prepare a strong case and provide them correct information,” the daily quoted him as saying.
He said that the GCC sports union needs quick and coordinated action on the issue. The UAE Football Union will also send a note of protest to FIFA, asking the governing body of world football to restore the original name of ‘Arabian Gulf’. “This step by FIFA has seen strong reaction from sports officials in the UAE and other GCC countries,” Yousuf Al Sarkal, president of the UAE Football Union, said. He said FIFA should only be concerned about football, and that sports and politics should be kept separate. The Peninsula
