DUBAI // Al Ain have been awarded a 3-0 victory by the Football Association's Disciplinary Committee from the abandoned Pro League match against Al Ahli, with the Dubai club also made to play their next two home games behind closed doors at a neutral venue.
The judgement, taken late last night, comes following Saturday's controversial encounter at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai, when the game was concluded prematurely after a referee's assistant was struck by an object thrown from a section of the stands reserved for Ahli fans.
The official, Mohammed Al Mehairi, received extensive treatment on the pitch to an open wound to his head, prompting the referee, Hamad Al Sheikh Hashmi, to call an end to proceedings before the three minutes of injury time had elapsed.
At that moment the score was locked at 0-0.
The violent nature of the incident, unprecedented in Pro League history, seems to have prompted the punishment. It remains unclear if Ahli will have a right to appeal.
The club have been vocal in condemnation of the fan's actions. The police have been working to identify the person who launched the missile.
Ahmed Khalifa, the Ahli chief executive, told The National earlier this week: "This is completely against the laws and the spirit of the game, and something we never expected to happen in a match here.
"There was nothing to suggest it would end in such a tragic way.
"Of course, there are sometimes comments regarding the officials' performance, but to harm them physically and actually draw blood on the pitch opposes any sportsmanship and the notion of fair play.
"The club and UAE community does not accept such behaviour."
The incident has provoked much debate since Saturday, with Yousuf Al Serkal, the FA president, on Monday stating any type of violence had no place in UAE football.
"The incident that happened recently, fortunately it is new to our football, but it is very regretful," he said.
"I'm disappointed we have such an incident from our spectators but, the way I look at it, it happened from an individual, it was not a riot.
"So that makes it only an individual act, although a very unfortunate one. It's an incident that we can deal with. It happened. We will not neglect it. It might happen again, so we will try carefully to make sure we don't have it again in our stadiums."
The venue for Ahli's next two home league matches - against Al Wahda and Ajman - has yet to be decided.
As a result of the ruling, Quique Sanchez Flores's side remain third on 39 points.
Al Ain, however, see their lead at the top of the table extended to 11 points with six games remaining.
Ahli and Al Ain each were hit by two-game bans near the end of the 2010/11 season; Ahli were stripped of two home matches when supporters threw water bottles at Al Ain supporters on May 8; Al Ain were punished for "verbally abusing" an Al Wasl player on May 20.
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Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
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Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
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2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
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