Riyadh ¨C UAE side Shabab Al Ahli on Wednesday formaly requested that its?Asian Champions League semifinal against Machida Zelvia be replayed, claiming that its late equalizer should have stood.
The Emirati side lost?1-0 in Jeddah on Tuesday, but a club source said?that the referee made a technical error in disallowing a 93rd-minute equalizer.
Machida Zelvia took the lead through Yuki Soma in the 12th minute, and Shabab Al Ahli believed?Brazilian winger Guilherme Bala had leveled the score?as the clock ticked toward?the final whistle.
But Australian referee Shaun Evans disallowed the goal after consulting the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), which ruled that the Emirati side had taken the throw-in that led to the goal before the Japanese team had completed a substitution.
The Shabab Al Ahli source, who asked not to be named, said:?¡°An official objection was submitted by the club before the team left the stadium.
¡°The objection includes a request to replay the match, and therefore it was decided to keep the team in Jeddah until a decision is made on our request.¡±
The appeal will have to be considered rapidly because Machida Zelvia will face defending champion Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia in the final on Saturday.
The UAE Football Association has pledged its support for Shabab Al Ahli ¡°in any step it takes to safeguard its rights¡± and called on the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to ¡°select appropriate referee teams for the competitions it organizes.¡±
Furious Shabab Al Ahli players protested to the referee at the end of the match, and goalkeeper Hamad Al Maqbali received a red card.
¡°The referee wanted us to be eliminated, and he succeeded in doing so,¡°?Al Maqbali said.
Shabab Al Ahli¡¯s Portuguese head coach Paulo Sousa was also angry.
¡°The referee treated Shabab Al Ahli unfairly and disallowed a legitimate goal due to a serious technical error,¡± he said.?¡°He was the one who allowed play to resume, so why did he disallow the goal afterward?¡±
¡°Everyone¡¯s level has improved at this stage of the tournament,except the refereeing.¡±
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