Ugly scenes spoil Asian Cup semifinals during match
Ugly scenes spoil Asian Cup semifinals during match
SHARJAH, UAE (AFP): Ugly scenes after a 90th minute equalizer
by host club Al Shaab from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
marred its Asian Cup Winners' cup semi-final clash with Saudi
Arabia's Al Ittihad Friday.
Police had to protect the South Korean referee from furious
Saudi officials protesting his handling of the game which ended
in a 1-1 draw.
The host club went on to win with a 4-3 penalty shoot out
after extra time failed to produce a result and will play Japan's
Yokohama Flugels in the final today.
Flugels triumphed 4-2 over the Telephone Organization of
Thailand from Bangkok in their semifinal encounter.
Ittihad took the lead in the clash with Al Shaab with a 27th
minute header from striker Abdullah Fawal but had left back Ahmed
Eesa sent off in the 59th minute for his second bookable offense.
With the match seven minutes into injury time, Al Shaab won a
corner on the right wing from which Jasim Mohammed al Doukhi
turned in the equalizer.
Ittihad only had time to kick-off before Korean referee Kim
Kwang-taek signaled the end of the 90 minutes -- but the start of
extra time was delayed for 15 minutes as police and stadium
security staff formed a human barricade around Kim and his
linesmen.
Furious Saudi players and officials had to be restrained,
irate that so much stoppages time had been added on. The Saudi
Arabian Football Federation may face disciplinary action from the
continent's governing body the Asian Football Confederation over
the ugly scenes.
The scenes were reminiscent of the recent Asian Youth Under 16
championship in Doha, Qatar, where Saudi players and coaching
staff attacked the referee after a defeat by China. This led to
two players being banned for two years, five others and a coach
for one year and the Saudi Federation being fined US$10,000.
When extra time finally got underway, neither side managed to
score again resulting in a penalty shootout which Al Shaab won 4-
3 for an overall 5-4 victory.
As the home players formed a circle and danced in delight
Ittihad's Russian coach, Boris Ignatev did not hide his feelings
in the post-match press conference.
"The referee would never work in Europe with a performance
like that," he said. "It was a prepared program against our team
aimed at destroying Ittihad, everyone could see that. Our
players were psychologically destroyed by the referee."
The second semifinal was quiet by contrast, despite six goals
and plenty of fast, flowing football from both teams.
The Thais took the lead with a header from skipper Pongtorn
Thiubthong in the 14th minute but the Japanese gained control
afer the break.