Madibo’s tackle on Kone in the team’s Group B match left the Canadian player with a broken leg. Published On 24 Jun 202624 Jun 2026Qatar player Assim Madibo has been given a five-match ban for the tackle that broke the leg of Canada midfielder Ismael Kone at the World Cup.Madibo was issued a straight red card for the incident during Canada’s 6-0 victory over Qatar in Vancouver last Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe suspension rules him out of Qatar’s remaining World Cup matches, including Wednesday’s encounter that saw Bosnia and Herzegovina hand the 2022 hosts a 3-1 thrashing at Seattle Stadium.The FIFA disciplinary committee said the suspension was for serious foul play and that the decision, given on Wednesday, was subject to appeal.Canada’s first World Cup victory was overshadowed by the injury to Kone, who was taken off on a stretcher and later underwent surgery on a broken tibia and fibula in his left leg.He was tackled from behind in the 51st minute, and players around him immediately feared he had sustained a serious injury as he lay on the ground, holding his leg and covering his mouth with his hand.Despite the severity of his injury, Kone sat upright on his stretcher and reassured the crowd with a wave as the stadium roared in support for him while he was wheeled off the pitch. Canada’s Ismael Kone waves to the crowd as he uses a ‘green whistle’ (Penthrox), a portable, self-administered inhaler used by paramedics for fast-acting pain relief, after sustaining an injury and being stretchered off. [Agustin Marcarian/Reuters]Nathan Saliba, who replaced the injured Kone and scored Canada’s fourth goal, celebrated by racing to the sideline to hold up a replica of the stricken Kone’s Canadian shirt and pointing to his shirt number, eight. Advertisement Madibo was also visibly upset, crying on the pitch and with his hands clasped behind his head as his teammates comforted him.Canada coach Jesse Marsch said in a news conference later on that Madibo came to Kone’s dressing room to apologise in perso …
