On Monday the Chinese Football Association (CFA) sent a letter to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA requesting that two matches scheduled for November 17 -- China-Hong Kong and Kuwait-Malaysia -- be played at the same time with an extra match between China and Kuwait if the two teams end up with the same points.

FIFA uses goal difference to decide who advances to the final round of the Asian qualifiers and there is no precedent of holding rematches for countries with the same points.

The letter was sent after AFC General Secretary Dato' Peter Velappan had voiced his concerns ahead of the coming crucial World Cup 2006 qualifier match between China and Hong Kong, warning both sides against collusion.

This has especially caught the attention of the media in Hong Kong, with claims that the CFA may pressure their 'little brothers' to throw the match so that China can go through.

The possibility of embarrassingly high scorelines prompted Velappan to warn: "Both FIFA and the AFC will be watching the matches very carefully. If there is any funny business, they will face the music."

Both Kuwait and China have 12 points, but Kuwait leads with a two-goal advantage.

China's chances of advancing are now compromised to say the least. If Kuwait takes full points from Malaysia as expected, China could well be the only seeded team in the eight Asian groups not to advance to the next round.

No decision on the extra match has yet been announced, but FIFA agreed Tuesday that the qualifiers should be played simultaneously.

(Shenzhen Daily October 21, 2004)