"A vague decision with no regulation": legal expert attacks the AFC and opens the file on the "injustice" against Saudi clubs
All conditions are suitable for staging the match
The fallout rumbles on after the Asian Football Confederation chose to postpone Saudi side Al-Nassr's AFC Champions League Elite clash with the UAE's Al-Wasl.
Al-Nassr were due to host Al-Wasl on Monday. Instead, the continental body called the game off, promising a new date and kick-off time in due course but naming no fresh fixture.
Dr Ayman Al-Rifai, legal adviser and former head of the disciplinary and ethics committee at the Saudi federation, insists the Asian confederation's decision rests on no regulation or legal text. He branded it general and vague.
Al-Rifai told the Saudi newspaper "Arriyadiyah": "Firstly, the decision issued by the Asian confederation is not based on any regulation or legal text, but rather came as general and vague. Secondly, all the conditions are suitable for staging the match from every angle, and there is nothing to prevent it being played."
He continued: "Thirdly, not playing the match or a team abstaining from it must fall within the regulations governing the tournament, and there is no text that supports Al-Wasl's position in apologising. What is worse is the Asian confederation's approval of the postponement without notifying the other team and discussing with the body responsible for organising the match and the current circumstances, especially as last week saw a round of the Roshn League in addition to the return of air traffic to its normal state."
The former head of the disciplinary and ethics committee added: "Al-Nassr's position is largely legally sound, especially since the Saudi federation expressed its full readiness to provide support and submit everything proving the validity of the club's position. But unfortunately, the Asian confederation's stance towards Saudi clubs is known for being negative and unfair. We saw how Al-Nassr was wronged in its recent case with Persepolis, as well as Al-Hilal in the matter of completing the squad."
He went on: "The Asian confederation did not take all these matters into consideration, from giving Al-Nassr the right to prove the irregularity of the participation of a Persepolis player, to postponing Al-Hilal's match so it could complete the squad, and taking into account force majeure and the surrounding circumstances."
