Appeal Court Rewrites the Oil vs. Talaba Saga: Fair Play Wins in Iraqi League

What happened on the appeal?

The Iraqi Football Federation’s Appeals Committee announced on Monday that it accepted Al-Talaba’s appeal against the Disciplinary Committee’s ruling, which had deemed the team the loser in the Oil vs. Talaba match from the third round of the domestic league held on September 25.

The Disciplinary Committee had ruled on September 29 that Al-Talaba lost the match because player Mustafa Mohammed Mannan wore jersey number 34, although he was listed in the official lineup as number 32. This administrative detail triggered the original defeat verdict, despite the match ending in a goalless draw.

Al-Talaba issued an official statement announcing their decision to appeal and criticized the disciplinary body’s ruling, accusing it of inconsistencies in the handling of the case.

According to the Appeals Committee, the result of the match was officially recorded as a 0-0 draw, and the Disciplinary Committee’s loser verdict was canceled.

The committee also ordered Mustafa Mohammed Mannan to pay 5 million Iraqi dinars under Article 14/2 of the disciplinary and ethics regulations for the current season, while Al-Talaba was fined 10 million Iraqi dinars for the administrative error that occurred in the match.

Impact and reactions

The Talaba administration issued a formal statement through its media center, thanking all the union bodies and, in particular, the Appeals Committee, for handling the file with professionalism and for defending the principles of sports justice and equal opportunities. The club asserted that it would pursue its rights through legal and institutional channels, viewing the outcome as a triumph for institutional fairness rather than a mere sports win.

With coach Talal Al-Balooshi at the helm, Al-Talaba sits sixth in the league table with eight points, having recorded two wins—over Zakho and Duhok—and a couple of draws with Al-Zawraa and the Oil. The club also noted an injury to player Karar Mohammed in a recent friendly against Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya.

Upcoming fixtures for the sixth round include several tight clashes: Nouruz vs Arbil, a postponed Police vs Al-Kahraba due to continental commitments, and a slate of matches on October 30 and 31 featuring Al-Graaf, Zakho, Amanat Baghdad, Najaf, and others, as the race for the title and European spots continues.

Officials reiterated that decisions by the disciplinary and appeals committees are independent and adhere to FIFA and Asian confederation guidelines, designed to uphold neutrality and transparency across all cases.

Looking ahead, the league’s integrity is under the spotlight as the season unfolds, with fans hoping for clean investigations and fewer surprises in the officiating room. And if the scoreboard ever needs a plot twist, at least the appeals panel knows how to keep it entertaining.

Punchlines to end on a lighter note: If football had a referee with a magnifying glass, we’d finally see the offside line. And remember, in this league, even the paperwork scores a goal before the ball does—talk about a paperwork-ahead finish.