Ali Abbas ( , born 30 August 1986) is an Iraqi-Australian footballer who last played for the Newcastle Jets in the A-League and the Iraq national team. Club career In November 2007 Ali Abbas, along with Ali Mansour and Ali Khudhair grabbed global headlines by seeking asylum in Australia after playing against the Olyroos for the Iraqi Under-23 side in an Olympic Games qualifier in Gosford. He had talks with Marconi Stallions at the time but returned to Iraq early in 2008 after discussions with the Iraqi Football Association and joined Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in Baghdad. In February 2009, Marconi reached an agreement with Iraqi club, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, for Abbas to join them permanently. Marconi Stallions In the opening game of the NSW Premier League season, Abbas scored a stunning curling free-kick for the Marconi in his first game for the club in their 2–0 victory over Penrith Nepean United at Marconi Stadium. He also helped Marconi secure second spot in the 2009 New South Wales Premier League season before signing with A-league side, Newcastle United Jets. Newcastle Jets Abbas trialled with Newcastle Jets before the start of the 2009–10 regular season under then Newcastle coach, Gary Van Egmond, but was ultimately not signed. However, on 18 September 2009, Abbas signed for the club as an injury replacement player for Shaun Ontong. He scored his first Jets goal on 12 February 2010 in a 2–1 loss to Adelaide United. Abbas re-signed with the Jets for another season seeing him play until the conclusion of the 2010–11 A-League season. He gained a contract extension which ended at the close of the 2011–12 season. Sydney FC On 21 May 2012, it was announced Abbas had signed for Sydney FC on a 2-year deal. Notably a left winger and having spent his entire pre-season playing in that role, Abbas was shifted into the central midfield role by manager Ian Crook early in the 2012–13 season. He scored his first competitive goal for the club against Central Coast Mariners on 3 November 2012 after latching onto the end of a reverse pass by Yairo Yau to volley it over goalkeeper Mathew Ryan. On 12 August 2014, Abbas scored two extra time penalties for Sydney FC in the club's first ever FFA Cup match away to Melbourne City. The game was locked at 1–1 at full time and looked to be set for penalties before firstly