Al-Hilal — three-time winner of the AFC Champions League and last season’s champion — has withdrawn from this season’s competition after failing to field enough players for a group stage match. The 16-time Saudi Professional League champion has been hammered with cases of Covid-19 and attempted to field a lineup that had three goalkeepers, eight outfield players and no substitutes.
#AlHilal squad for today’s match against “Shabab AlAhli Dubai” at #ACL2020 #HILvSAH that included 8 players and 3 goalkeepers .. pic.twitter.com/tgTGhtfx6L
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) September 23, 2020
Al-Hilal has had six staff member and 15 players test positive for Covid-19, including former Toronto FC star Sebastian Giovinco.
Following medical tests, the two players “Salem AlDawsari” and “Sebastian Giovinco” have tested positive for COVID-19, along with the physiotherapist “Nery”, they will be subjected to quarantine and health procedures of the AFC..#AlHilal pic.twitter.com/levsn4iJBI
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) September 19, 2020
The AFC (Asian Football Confederation) ruled that because Al-Hilal had failed to name the required 13 players for its Champions League match the club is forced to withdraw from the tournament.
BREAKING
Al Hilal are deemed to have withdrawn from the #ACL2020 after not being able to name the required 13 players for Group B match against Shabab Al Ahli!https://t.co/27cH1Bo2aM— #ACL2020 (@TheAFCCL) September 23, 2020
The Saudia Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) and Al-Hilal requested the match be postponed citing an AFC rule put in place for extreme circumstances regarding Covid-19. The rule — Article 4.3 of the Special Rules for AFC Competitions During Covid-19 — is quite wordy and essentially states that matches can be rescheduled so long as it doesn’t mess with the scheduling of the tournament too badly.
Here is the rule in all of its word-count glory:
“If a Participating Team/Participating Club has less than thirteen (13) players (including one (1) goalkeeper) available for a Match for any reason (whether or not relating to COVID-19), the relevant Participating Team/Participating Club shall not be able to participate in the Match. Such Participating Team/Participating Club shall be held responsible for the Match not taking place and shall be considered to have withdrawn from the relevant Competition. The relevant Participating Team/Participating Club and its affiliated Member Association shall be subject to the provisions of the relevant competition regulations, as applicable.
“In exceptional circumstances and provided that any rescheduling will not affect the match schedule determined by the AFC General Secretariat, the AFC Competitions Committee (or any sub-committee carrying out duties on its behalf) may grant an exception to the foregoing and allow the relevant Match to be rescheduled.”
The AFC Champions League decided that a postponement would “have a huge negative impact on the current match schedule” and gave Al-Hilal the boot from the competition.
The real brutal part is that Al-Hilal had already qualified for the Round of 16 with one match left to play.
The reigning champions Al Hilal are through to the Round of 16. Who will join them from Group B?#ACL2020 pic.twitter.com/rxd1idLccV
— #ACL2020 (@TheAFCCL) September 20, 2020
Instead of the defending champion getting to defend its title, Shabab Al-Ahli of the United Arab Emirates and Pakhtakor Tashkent from Uzbekistan will advance out of the group stage.
