MANILA: AFC Player of the Year Nasser Al Shamrani has been banned for eight matches for spitting and head butting an opponent after the final of the AFC Champions League earlier this month.
The Saudi striker’s ban, the least he could have received after being found guilty, is only for matches in the AFC Champions League, meaning he will be free to represent his country at the Asian Cup in January and his
club Al Hilal in domestic competition.
Yemen’s Hamid Al Shaibani, deputy chairman of the Asian Football Confederation’s disciplinary committee, revealed the ban to the waslnews media portal after a meeting in Manila.
The AFC said the Saudi Arabian Football Association had not been informed of the decision, refusing to confirm or deny the report.
AFC statutes say six matches is the minimum punishment for a player found guilty of spitting at an opponent, with two matches the least a player can expect for assaulting. REUTERS
