Holders Iraq and secretive North Korea could face sanctions from the AFC for failing to send a player to their media conferences on Monday ahead of their opening Asian Cup matches.
“The teams are obliged to bring one player to every pre-match conference. We will pass on this matter to the AFC disciplinary committee for them to decide,” an AFC official said.
North Korea will play UAE in the Group D opener at the Qatar Sports Club before the other match in the pool between Iraq and Iran later on Tuesday.
North Korean coach Jo Tong-sop was late for their scheduled media briefing, which the team's spokesman and translator said was his fault, and was re-arranged later with around 35 journalists in attendance.
A question put to Jo in English about the difficulties of coaching a side in a heavily restricted country were not translated by the team spokesman, who told people to come to North Korea and find out for themselves.
North Korea played at the 2010 World Cup but after a spirited display in losing 2-1 to Brazil, they were humbled 7-0 by Portugal and 3-0 to Ivory Coast. Jo replaced Kim Jong-hun after the tournament and said the team had learned from their second WC finals and were aiming to reach the quarters.
{{/usCountry}}North Korea played at the 2010 World Cup but after a spirited display in losing 2-1 to Brazil, they were humbled 7-0 by Portugal and 3-0 to Ivory Coast. Jo replaced Kim Jong-hun after the tournament and said the team had learned from their second WC finals and were aiming to reach the quarters.
{{/usCountry}}