FIFA to probe 10-0 Bahrain victory

FIFA have confirmed they will launch an investigation into Wednesday’s 2014 World Cup Asian qualifier between Bahrain and Indonesia.

The match raised eyebrows due to the nature of the scoreline, which saw the Arab outfit trounce a weakened Indonesian side 10-0 after going into the fixture with the requirement of wiping out a nine-goal deficit to have any chance of reaching the fourth round of qualifying.

However, in a statement released on Thursday, FIFA announced it will conduct a ‘routine’ inquiry into the encounter.

“FIFA security will conduct a routine examination of this game and its result, given the unusual outcome against results expectation and head-to-head history, and in the interests of maintaining unequivocal confidence in our game,” the statement read.

Qatar grabbed a late equaliser to draw 2-2 with Iran in the other Group E match, rendering Bahrain’s result redundant despite their best efforts, which were aided by Indonesia goalkeeper Samsidar’s third-minute red card.

Indonesia endured a miserable qualifying campaign, losing all six of their matches and were forced to field an inexperienced team after a number of their senior players were suspended for their allegiance to clubs in the country’s breakaway Super League.