Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation welcomes the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to confirm the suspension of Nassir Ali N Alshramrani for eight matches as a result of his actions in the second leg match of the 2014 AFC Champions League final. The CAS, who issued the operative part of the judgement on 20 April 2015, decided to suspend two of the eight matches for a probationary period of two years.
On 28 November 2014, the AFC Disciplinary Committee found Mr Alshamrani guilty of violating Article 57 of the AFC Disciplinary Code. The offending actions were:
(i) spitting at an opponent after the match, prior to the prize presentation ceremony; and
(ii) headbutting an opponent in the 95th minute of the match, an action which escaped the attention of the referee.
As a result, Mr Alshamrani shall be suspended for Matchday 5 and Matchday 6 of the AFC Champions League 2015 Group Stage, as well as both legs of the Round of 16, should Al Hilal (KSA) qualify for the Round of 16. Should Al Hilal fail to qualify, the remaining two match suspensions shall be served in a future AFC club competition in which he would be eligible to play.
Mr Alshamrani has already served two matches of the suspension this season on Matchday 1 and Matchday 2 of the Group Stage. The CAS had previously ordered a "stay" of the suspension for Matchday 3 and Matchday 4 of the Group Stage pending the final decision
If Mr Alshamrani is sanctioned by the AFC Disciplinary Committee for unsporting behaviour within the probationary period, an additional two matches shall be automatically added to the penalty for such misbehaviour.