Emirati team Al Wahda does not travel to Qatar

The Coronavirus sub-committee in the AFC Champions League for the West considered that the UAE club Al Wahda was withdrawing from the tournament, after not being able to travel to the Qatari capital, Doha.

According to the official website of the Asian Football Confederation, the subcommittee decided that the circumstances surrounding the club’s failure to arrive in Doha, in order to play the remaining Group A matches, fit the description of “compulsive circumstances “, and that the matches that the Al-Wahda club played in the tournament will be considered their results. It is canceled, and to avoid doubts, it was decided not to count the points or goals of the previous matches that the team played to determine the final classification of the group.

According to the medical protocol for holding matches during the period of the Corona pandemic “Covid-19”, the Al Wahda Club had to arrive in Doha four days before playing the first match, but on September 9 the club informed the AFC of his inability to travel after discovering cases. Positive for Coronavirus.

The Al Wahda club was quarantined by the Emirates authorities, as Al Wahda Club and the UAE Football Association submitted a request to postpone the matches, but as a result of the completion of the preparations and the arrival of other teams, it was not possible to achieve it.

Article (4.1) of the special instructions for AFC competitions, during the period of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, establishes: “In the event that the participating team or club cannot travel to the host country and / and to the match stadium due to travel restrictions or Other restrictions related to the Covid-19 virus, the participating team / club is considered to have withdrawn from the tournament. “

The article adds: “The participating team / participating club and their national federation are subject to the provisions governed by the tournament instructions, as stipulated therein.”

The subcommittee expressed solidarity with the situation at Al-Wehda Club and agreed on the basis that the travel and stone restrictions imposed on the Al-Wehda Club had led to the development of “compulsive circumstances” in accordance with articles 6.4 and 71 of the AFC competition instructions.

Source: “the-afc”