The UAE FA will "pursue compensation after Kuwait cancelled a friendly against The Whites at the last minute on Saturday," according to Ashley Hammond of the GULF NEWS. Kuwait "took exception to the fact the behind-closed-doors friendly at the Robina Stadium on Australia's Gold Coast couldn't be filmed by their technical staff and refused to play in protest." Nabil Maaloui's side "then stayed on the pitch and started an impromptu training session instead." The stadium owners turned on the sprinklers to "get the team off the pitch, but then they retreated into other areas of the stadium, locking themselves into changing rooms and continuing training sessions on surrounding indoor pitches." Kuwait only left the stadium "under the threat of arrest after the police were called." An agreement not to film the match was "signed by both parties." The UAE "could have a case for compensation to accrue travel and hotel costs in preparation for the friendly," according to UAEFA Acting General Secretary Mohammad Hazzam Al Daheri (GULF NEWS, 1/4). REUTERS reported the differences "seemed to have been sorted out with the players lining up in the tunnel but the game did not proceed." The UAE FA said, "At this stage, the Kuwaiti team's manager escalated the situation and threatened that the match could be cancelled unless their requirement is responded to. And since the Kuwaiti last minute demand conflicts with the objectives of the UAE national team, the persons in charge have rejected the Kuwaiti request and the match was cancelled in the process" (REUTERS, 1/4).
