Al Ahli’s hopes of a domestic clean sweep are over after their appeal against disqualification from the Arabian Gulf Cup final was rejected by the UAE Football Association on Wednesday night.
Their place in April 1’s showpiece was stripped after the governing body’s disciplinary committee ruled January-buy Khamis Esmail was not eligible to play in the 3-2 semi-final win against Al Shabab.
The decision to uphold March 6’s original punishment of a 3-0 forfeit loss means Caio Junior’s Shabab will fight Al Wahda for the season’s first piece of major silverware at Al Maktoum Stadium.
Red Knights CEO Ahmed Khalifa refused to dwell on the call, prefering to concentrate on the chase for other trophies. The club currently top the Arabian Gulf League by one point and are into the quarter-finals of the President’s Cup.
He said: “We don’t want to comment too much about this. We respect all decisions of the UAE Football Association committees and we have plenty to look forward to in the rest of the season.
“We cannot complain about the system, as it is set out very well. Of course, we tried our best on all levels during this appeal but the committee found against our appeal.
“Al Ahli can now concentrate on the future after this decision. We have the President’s Cup and the Arabian Gulf League ahead of us. We must now continue doing our best.”
The furore had centred around restrospectively-cited issues related to the documentation produced to complete Esmail’s Dh60 million switch from fellow giants Al Jazira.
Transfers are declared complete when paperwork is sent to the UAE FA by both the selling and buying club, with the player then being registered by the organisation.
The UAE defensive midfielder came on as an 84th-minute substitute in January 19’s last-four tie, less than 24 hours after the move had been rubberstamped.
Problems then arose in the aftermath, with Shabab insisting certain documents were missing.
The process since has been an elongated one, with two attempts last week by the appeals committee being aborted. Ahli have no intention of taking the situation to a higher body, such as the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
