DOHA — Qatar Sports Club (QSC) has allowed head coach Radhi Shenaishil a leave of absence to take charge of his native Iraq at next month's Asian Cup. “With the spirit of sincere cooperation in the Arab sports world, which we hope will lead to friendly ties between the Arab people, the Qatar Sports Club Board decided to accept the request of the Iraq Football Association,” QSC said in a statement Sunday. The former international defender took charge of Iraq previously in 2009 before standing aside for Bora Milutinovic prior to the Confederations Cup campaign that year. The 48-year-old represented his country at the 1996 Asian Cup, where he was named in the team of the tournament as it reached the quarterfinals. He also coached Al-Zawraa in his homeland, helping it to the 2011 Iraqi League title and also led the country's under-23 team. He was only appointed by QSC in September after Czech Ivan Hasek's was swiftly axed following two opening defeats in the Stars League. Shenaishil will take charge of Iraq's warmup matches against Kuwait, Uzbekistan and Iran before they kick-off their Group D campaign at the Jan. 9-31 tournament in Australia against holder Japan, Palestine and Jordan. The IraqiNews portal reported that the 2007 Asian Cup winner met up for a first training session Monday with 20 players in attendance. Shenaishil will join up with the squad for a training camp in Dubai next Monday after taking charge of QSC's final league fixture Saturday before the league halts for the Asian Cup. Future uncertain for Aguirre The latest twist in a La Liga match-fixing investigation has left the Japanese Football Association and head coach Javier Aguirre in an awkward position with the Mexican's future unclear less than a month out from their Asian Cup title defense. Aguirre was among 41 people named by Spain's anti-corruption prosecutor, who filed its case in a Valencia court Monday following a probe into Real Zaragoza's 2-1 win at Levante on the final day of the 2010-11 campaign. The victory ensured Zaragoza, coached by Aguirre at the time, avoided relegation. The prosecutor alleges that the Levante players were paid a total of 965,000 euros ($1.2 million) in cash to deliberately lose the game with the Mexican named as one of three people who distributed the money to their opponents. Aguirre has repeatedly denied the claims, and Monday said he was not concerned about the long-discussed case after naming his 23-man squad for the Jan. 9-31 tournament in Australia. “At the Asian Cup I will just be concentrating on the sports and competition side of things,” he told reporters. Extra security sought The Asian Football Confederation urged Australia Tuesday to provide extra security for next month's Asian Cup following the siege at a Sydney cafe that left two hostages dead. The AFC asked organizers to beef up security at hotels and provide police escorts for training and matches during the tournament. “The confederation has expressed serious concerns over the safety and security of teams, media and fans,” the AFC said in a statement. The request came after a gunman took 17 hostages at a Sydney cafe in a 16-hour siege that ended in a police raid and barrage of gunfire early Tuesday. The gunman and two hostages were killed. — Agencies
