Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Footballers who paid the penalty for failure Footballers who paid the penalty for failure
How Uday's terror made the game a matter of life or death
Suzanne Goldenberg in Baghdad
Saturday April 19, 2003
The Guardian
It was a qualifying match in Jordan, and at full time Iraq were drawing three-all against the United Arab Emirates. Arab League rules called for a penalty shoot-out. Abbas Rahim Zair walked up to the penalty spot with a prayer on his lips and his heart in his boots.
Any player knows the pain of missing a penalty, but for a member of the national team, it carried the certainty of ritual humiliation, imprisonment, and torture. Only three Iraqis dared to take penalties, and Zair was one of them.
How Uday's terror made the game a matter of life or death
Suzanne Goldenberg in Baghdad
Saturday April 19, 2003
The Guardian
It was a qualifying match in Jordan, and at full time Iraq were drawing three-all against the United Arab Emirates. Arab League rules called for a penalty shoot-out. Abbas Rahim Zair walked up to the penalty spot with a prayer on his lips and his heart in his boots.
Any player knows the pain of missing a penalty, but for a member of the national team, it carried the certainty of ritual humiliation, imprisonment, and torture. Only three Iraqis dared to take penalties, and Zair was one of them.
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