Iraq has fired national soccer team coach Egil Olsen five months after the Norwegian took charge of the Asian champions.

"The Iraqi Football Union (IFA) decided today to dispense with Olsen because he is refusing to enter the Kurdistan region in Iraq to train the Iraqi team there," the IFA's deputy head Basem al-Rubaie said on Sunday.

Iraq currently plays its home games outside the country because of the precarious security situation.

Rubaie said Olsen, whose last game in charge was a 1-1 draw in a World Cup qualifier against China in Dubai on Feb. 6, had told the IFA that the Norwegian government would not let him travel to Kurdistan.

He also said there were concerns about the coach's health because he had suffered back problems.

Iraqi Adnan Hamad, manager of Jordanian club Al Faisaly, will be in temporary charge for the next World Cup qualifier against Qatar on March 26, Rubaie said.

(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2008)