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Qatar player who broke Koné's leg suspended by FIFA

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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Jun 24 2026, 10:17 pm
Qatar player who broke Koné's leg suspended by FIFA
Anne-Marie Sorvin/Imagn Images

Ismaël Koné’s gruesome leg injury against Qatar at the FIFA World Cup will be hard to forget for many Canadians.

The Qatari player who caused the injury was initially given a red card, but the consequences of the challenge that resulted in Koné breaking his leg have escalated.

Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo was given a five-match ban for his challenge on Koné, with the FIFA Disciplinary Committee deeming it “serious foul play.” He does have the opportunity to appeal the suspension.

While undoubtedly a dirty play, Madibo was clearly shaken up seeing Koné’s injury and even apologized in person to Koné after the match concluded.

Even though Qatar was officially eliminated on Wednesday following a 3-1 loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Madibo’s ban will carry over into the national team’s next four international matches.

It came out that Koné broke his fibula and tibia, with Canada saying in a statement on Friday that the 24-year-old “underwent successful surgery to repair a lower limb fracture.”

While losing Koné, especially to such a gruesome injury, was difficult for his teammates to stomach, they were able to defeat Qatar by a 6-0 final.

Canada followed up that match with a 2-1 loss at the hands of Switzerland on Wednesday. While the loss marked Canada’s first of the FIFA World Cup, they have clinched a spot in the Round of 32 thanks to placing second in the Group B division. It marks the first time in Canadian soccer history that the nation will compete in the knockout stages of the World Cup.

Canada’s next match will come on Sunday, though their opponent is still undetermined. They will take on either Korea Republic, Czechia, or South Africa in that match, which will be played in Los Angeles.

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