and he became a Qatari citizen in 2008. He made his international debut for the Qatar national team on 4 March 2008 in a friendly against Bahrain. He also played the next friendly, vs. Jordan, on 16 March and a World Cup qualifying match, vs. Iraq, on 26 March. In April 2008, it was revealed that Emerson Sheik had also played for the Brazil under-20 team which makes him ineligible to play for the Qatari national team. Taking that into consideration, and that he represented Qatar in the World Cup qualifier against Iraq on 26 March, Qatar breached the FIFA rules, and Qatar could have lost the three points they gained from the game against Iraq. FIFA confirmed the breach of laws but said that QFA is not responsible for any wrongdoing, and that Emerson has since not played for Qatar. Although FIFA has loosened the nationality transfer of uncapped players and players with multi-nationality, it was not beneficial to Emerson, because he did not hold multi-nationality when representing Brazil. Controversy Emerson Sheik was detained by the Brazilian federal police on his way back to Qatar on 20 January 2006 for allegedly falsifying a birth certificate to show that he was three years younger than his actual age. The fake birth certificate, which was used to issue his passport, said that he was born on 6 December 1981 in Nova Iguaçu with the name "Márcio Emerson Passos", but his original shows he was born 6 September 1978, with the name "Márcio Passos de Albuquerque". Kiss issue On 18 August 2013, after the 1–0 victory by Corinthians against Coritiba FC in the Brazilian League, Emerson Sheik celebrated the alvinegro triumph by kissing his friend and posting the photo on Instagram. On 19 August, one day after the incident, homophobic Corinthians supporters protested against the kiss at Joaquim Grava Training Center where Corinthians were undertaking a training session. Emerson Sheik called the protests an "idiotic prejudice". On 21 August, in the first game after the incident, a 1–0 loss against Luverdense in the 2013 Copa do Brasil, Emerson Sheik was sent off along with opposition player Zé Roberto after they argued on field. Speaking to the press after the game, Zé Roberto in reference to Emerson, said: "I am not the guy that takes a kiss from anyone, I do not accept this kind of thing." Career statistics Club FIFA Club World