Fair play and sportsmanship are quintessential to sport all over the world and seeing it instilled in young players is heart-warming.
That was just the case during a competitive and closely-fought game between Qatar and Palestine in the recent Jeem Cup, a tournament for under 12-year-olds.
A Palestinian player went to the ground after a high foot from his Qatari counterpart, before the referee asked Qatar to restart to the game by playing the ball back to the Palestine goalkeeper.
The ‘keeper managed to botch the return, the ball squirming through his hands and body and into the net, giving Qatar a 1-0 lead.
Rather than allow his team to capitalise on this advantage, Qatar and Aspire Academy coach Fouad Al Fodil instructed his team to let their opponents score.
The Qataris allowed the Palestinian player to run through unchallenged to score and restore parity in the game.
For the Qatari side, the match eventually ended in a 2-1 defeat but they certainly earned fans around the world for this gesture.
