Bahrain's big win attracts suspicion

A former England caretaker manager was at the centre of extraordinary events on the final day of preliminary qualifying in Asia for the 2014 World Cup yesterday.

Peter Taylor's Bahrain, needing a nine-goal turnaround to progress, beat Indonesia 10-0 in a fixture that may yet attract closer investigation from world football's governing body, Fifa, but were denied a place in the next round by Qatar's 86th-minute equaliser against Iran.

Indonesia's goalkeeper was sent off after two minutes. The replacement let in a potentially key ninth goal eight minutes from time. In the final tally were two penalties.

The referee, Andre El Haddad of Lebanon, has been involved in controversy before.

Last year, he took charge of a qualifier between China and Singapore in which he made several hotly contested decisions. China won 2-1.

Taylor, pictured left, who took charge of England for one game in 2000, was criticised for taking the job in Bahrain, where the democracy movement has been suppressed. Several players are banned from the national side after taking part in protests.

Fifa is expected to wait for the official match reports before deciding whether any action is required.