An AFC Asian Cup match between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates occurred on 29 January 2019, as part of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. It was held at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. The match is referred as the Blockade Derby, due to the then-ongoing Qatar diplomatic crisis and deterioration of Qatar–United Arab Emirates relations.^[1]

Quick Facts Event, United Arab Emirates ...

2019 AFC Asian Cup semi-finals
Blockade Derby

The lineup of the two teams and the refereeing staff before the match
Event	2019 AFC Asian Cup
Qatar United Arab Emirates 4 0
Qatar entered their first ever final in their Asian Cup history
Date	29 January 2019
Venue	Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Referee	César Arturo Ramos (Mexico)
Attendance	38,646

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The match has a significant impact on the outcome of the tournament. It was highly criticised in the United Arab Emirates, with the Emirati hosts suffering their most humiliating home defeat in Asian Cup history,^[2] while in Qatar, the match was remembered because it helped Qatar reach their first ever Asian Cup final, which they eventually won.^[3]

Both Qatar and the United Arab Emirates marked the 2019 edition as the 10th edition they have qualified. While the UAE automatically qualified as hosts, Qatar was the first country to qualify for the tournament, having secured it in November 2015. Being the two earliest teams to qualify, both teams also had unsuccessful attempts to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, prompting them to replace managers. The Emirates appointing 2011 AFC Asian Cup winner Alberto Zaccheroni, while Qatar hired Félix Sánchez Bas, a former youth coach at FC Barcelona and the architect of Qatar's successful 2014 AFC U-19 Championship conquest.^[4][5]

In 2017, the Qatar diplomatic crisis erupted, with the United Arab Emirates, along with Bahrain, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, cut off relations with Qatar in accusation of sponsoring terrorism and its independent diplomacy, blockaded air and space for Qatar and banned Qataris from entering these countries.^[6] The rift was emboldened by the 13 demands from the blockade countries, mostly led by the United Arab Emirates, in similar charges.^[7] Qatar rejected the demands, and the blockade continued. The tensions later served as a catalyst for the eventual hostilities between two countries, which even extended to football as well. In 2018 AFC U-19 Championship, the captain of U-19 United Arab Emirates team refused to shake hand with the counterpart from Qatar.^[8] The United Arab Emirates won 2–1, however the United Arab Emirates would soon crash out of group stage while Qatar would recover to qualify for 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The buildup of 2019 AFC Asian Cup was also marred with tensions between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Qatari organizers and, especially AFC Vice-president Saoud al-Mohannadi, was also barred by the Emirati authorities.^[9][10] Although the Emirati government later announced that it would permit Qatari citizens temporary entry into the country pending approval from Emirati authorities, Qataris were still banned from entering the country throughout the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.^[11]

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

20 January – Hazza bin Zayed

Thailand

1

24 January – Mohammed bin Zayed

China

2

China

0

20 January – Mohammed bin Zayed

Iran

3

Iran

2

28 January – Hazza bin Zayed

Oman

0

Iran

0

20 January – Al Maktoum

Japan

3

Jordan

1 (2)

24 January – Al Maktoum

Vietnam (p)

1 (4)

Vietnam

0

21 January – Sharjah

Japan

1

Japan

1

1 February – Zayed Sports City

Saudi Arabia

0

Japan

22 January – Rashid

Qatar

South Korea (a.e.t.)

2

25 January – Zayed Sports City

Bahrain

1

South Korea

0

22 January – Al Nahyan

Qatar

1

Qatar

1

29 January – Mohammed bin Zayed

Iraq

0

Qatar

4

21 January – Zayed Sports City

United Arab Emirates

0

United Arab Emirates (a.e.t.)

3

25 January – Hazza bin Zayed

Kyrgyzstan

2

United Arab Emirates

1

21 January – Khalifa bin Zayed

Australia

0

Australia (p)

0 (4)

Uzbekistan

0 (2)

The match was marred by bottle and footwear-throwing incidents committed by the UAE supporters which occurred throughout of the match and became more intense as Qatar proved to be too strong for the host nation. This conduct was preceded by booing the Qatari national anthem.^[27][28][29] The two countries have had a hostile relationship and had cut ties due to the ongoing diplomatic crisis.^[30] After the match, Emirati fans had reacted with disgust and fury over the unbelievable defeat of the home team, and had tried to break into the stadium for a possible brawl with Qatari squad, but no avail.^[31]

The outcome of the match was so humiliating that manager Alberto Zaccheroni had to apologize for the home fans, as his contract also expired following the end of the tournament.^[31] The defeat was also the first ever Emirati defeat to Qatar since 2002, ending the country's 17 years undefeated streak over the Gulf rival. Criticism ran against the UAE for its failure to contain fans' hooliganism throughout the match.^[31] Moreover, the defeat meant it was the United Arab Emirates' heaviest defeat ever against Qatar in their competitive history before Qatar trounced the Emiratis 5–0 in the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup.^[32]

Unaccepting the defeat, the United Arab Emirates Football Association lodged a formal appeal to the AFC over the eligibility of Sudanese-born Almoez Ali and Iraqi-born Bassam Al-Rawi, claiming that they did not qualify to play for Qatar on residency grounds per Article 7 of the Regulations Governing the Application of the FIFA statutes, which states a player is eligible to play for a representative team if he has "lived continuously for at least five years after reaching the age of 18 on the territory of the relevant association".^[33] It was alleged that Ali and Al-Rawi had not lived continuously in Qatar for at least five years over the age of 18, although the players claimed that their mothers were born in Qatar.^[34]

Only hours prior to the start of the final on 1 February 2019, the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee announced that it had dismissed the protest lodged by the UAEFA.^[35][36]

For Qatar, the win meant Qatar entered their first ever Asian Cup final for the first time. The win sent many Qataris into jubilant at home, as Qatar was seen more like a dark horse rather than a tournament's favorite.^[37] It was superseded when Qatar managed to outplay Japan in the emphatic 3–1 final victory to take home the country's first ever football honor.^[38] Qatar's victorious campaign further deepened the rivalry and tensions, as most Emirati newspapers struggled to provide a report about it.^[39][40][41]

The United Arab Emirates were fined $150,000 and was originally asked to play two home matches without spectators.^[42][43] The decision was later appealed by the UAEFA.^{[citation needed]} It was believed that the President of the AFC, Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, had his role behind the reversal of the ban, given his Bahraini nationality and Bahrain's participation in the blockade against Qatar.

• 2019 AFC Asian Cup
• Qatar diplomatic crisis
• Qatar–United Arab Emirates football rivalry