AP - North Korea walked off the field of its Asian Cup qualifying match at Iran on Wednesday after fans threw a huge firecracker that injured a North Korean player.
Iran took a 1-0 lead in the Group D match in the 56th minute when captain Ali Daei converted a penalty.
About 40,000 fans celebrated wildly after the goal, and the firecracker, which landed near the injured player, was thrown onto the field about four minutes later. The North Korean coach then ordered his players to leave the at 100,000-seat Azadi Stadium.
The Asian Football Confederation has not yet said what will the outcome of the match will be.
Jordan, which beat Lebanon 2-0, leads the group with nine points through four matches. Iran is next with six points from three matches, followed by Lebanon with four points and North Korea with one.
The top two teams in each of the seven groups advance to the 2004 Asian Cup finals, along with host China and defending champion Japan.
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