Protest against AFC finalist dismissed

   THE Asian Football Association (AFC) on Monday dismissed a protest against AFC Champion League (ACL) finalist Al Ahli Dubai that a player of the UAE club had participated in the game illegally.

    Al Ahli defeated Al Hilal from Saudi Arabia 3-2 at home in the second leg of the semifinal with a last-minute goal by South Korean defender Kwon Kyung-won, advancing to the final with a 4-3 aggregate win.

    Al Hilal later filed a protest, alleged Al Ahli’ s winger Ossama Assaidi was not duly registered with the UAE Football Association in accordance with its transfer rules, making him ineligible to play under ACL regulations.

    In a statement, AFC said its disciplinary committee had determined that Assaidi had been validly registered and therefore was eligible to participate in the relevant match.

    Assaidi has played for the English Premier League giant Liverpool and the Moroccan national team. Al Ahli will face 2013 ACL champion Guangzhou Evergrand from China in the ACL final.(SD-Agencies)