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Sydney: Iraq faces a year in the soccer wilderness after Fifa suspended it from all international competitions on Monday and issued an ultimatum to Baghdad.
The executive board of world soccer's governing body announced it had imposed the ban after the Iraq government dissolved its National Olympic Committee and national sport federations in breach of Fifa and Olympic regulations.
The board will recommend that the Fifa Congress, which meets in Sydney on Friday, suspends Iraq from all tournaments for 12 months, but left the door open for a reprieve if Baghdad reversed its decision by 1400 GMT on Thursday.
Iraq's coach urged Fifa and the Iraq government to resolve their dispute and avoid killing his players' dream of reaching the 2010 World Cup finals.
Adnan Hamad said: "It's difficult for me and the players - It's our dream to go to the World Cup," Hamad said. "Politics is stopping them living their dream."
Iraq's sports minister Jasem Mohammad Jaafar said on Sunday that the government "won't pull back from its decision" to sack its sports committees.
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