Tigres-Ulsan Hyundai Club World Cup match halted over deflated balls

The FIFA Club World Cup opener among Liga MX side Tigres and Ulsan Hyundai was halted on Thursday due to under-inflated balls being used during the suit.

Shortly after the healthy -- a 2-1 Tigres win -- kicked off at Al Rayyan stadium in Qatar, both teams complained to referee Esteban Ostojich about the apparent softness of the ball at the pitch. Ostrich requested a transfer that regarded to stop the problem, but following a throw-in favoring the Asian champions, an exclusive ball became additionally deemed to have inadequate pressure.

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Following the the second round of complaints from gamers, Ostojich halted the in shape for 3-and-a-half of minutes to make sure all balls had been well inflated so one can restart proceedings between Ulsan and Tigres, who made their Club World Cup debut following a 2-1 win over LAFC inside the CONCACAF Champions League final in December.

No in addition issues were reported.

 

Controversy surrounding underneath-inflated balls is not anything new to American sports activities lovers. Legendary quarterback Tom Brady was suspended 4 video games and his team -- then the New England Patriots -- turned into fined and docked draft picks for what the NFL called "behavior negative to the integrity of the NFL" regarding the doctoring of game balls all through a playoff game in 2014.

When Thursday's suit restarted, Kim Kee-hee's opener for Ulsan in the 24th minute become canceled out by means of Andre-Pierre Gignac's first-half of the brace, sending Tigres to the competition's semifinal to stand Copa Libertadores champions Palmeiras on Sunday in a bid to make records. No CONCACAF team has ever made the Club World Cup very last.

Ulsan Hyundai will quit their run in the competition within the 5th-vicinity suit, additionally to be played on Sunday. In their handiest prior revel in at the match, the South Korean aspect finished sixth in 2012 after losing to Liga MX's Monterrey as well as Japanese aspect Sanfrecce Hiroshima.