Jordan had a promising performance in his first match at the World Cup. After Austria took the lead in the first half with the goal of Romano Schmid, Ali Alwan tied the game at the beginning of the second half so that the representative of Asia could hope to create a surprise. But Yazen Al-Arab’s own goal changed the course of the match and Austria eventually won.
For many football fans, this incident was a reminder of one of the most controversial seasons in the professional life of this Jordanian defender; A season that could lead to the complete end of his football career.
In 2023, when Al-Arab was playing for Malaysia’s Selangor Club, he lost control after his team was eliminated in the country’s FA Cup. After receiving a red card, he attacked the referee and kicked the referee, creating one of the most controversial incidents in Malaysian football. Following this incident, the Selangor club terminated his contract and the Malaysian Football Federation condemned him to a lifetime ban from all football activities in this country.
Al-Arab later announced in an interview that at that time he was going through a difficult mental situation due to the death of one of his relatives, and after seeing the pictures of the incident, he considered his behavior unjustifiable. He also expressed hope that one day he will be able to return to Malaysian football.
Despite this scandal, his career did not end. This Jordanian defender stayed away from football for a few months, but then he joined the Iraqi Police Club and was able to return to his country’s national team. A return that soon became one of the inspiring stories of Asian football. Al-Arab was one of the key pieces of the team that reached the final of the 2023 Asian Nations Cup under the guidance of Hossein Amouta. The best result in the history of Jordanian football in this competition.
This history has made many in Jordan consider his own goal against Austria not a decisive mistake, but another part of the uplifting story of this 30-year-old footballer who has repeatedly come back from crises. In fact, although the images of his own goal against Austria will probably remain in the fans’ minds for a long time, Yazen al-Arab’s record shows that he has gone through much tougher times before and was able to revive himself.
Now, Jordan is looking forward to the results of the next matches in order to keep the chance of advancing to the elimination stages; This team has a difficult task ahead of it to keep its chances of promotion alive, because in the continuation of the cup, it must first face Algeria, which is wounded by Argentina and Lionel Messi, and in the last game of the group stage, it must face Scaloni’s students.
