MANILA // AFC player of the year nominee 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, Arabic media reported on Sunday.
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, the report said.
Read more: Al Hilal’s Nasser Al Shamrani claims he was provoked before spitting at opponent, writes John McAuley
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 which comes hours before the 60th anniversary gala dinner in the Filipino capital.
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.
Al Shamrani spat in the direction of Western Sydney Wanderers defender Matthew Spiranovic after his side lost 1-0 on aggregate to the Australians following a goalless draw in Riyadh.
The 31-year-old diminutive forward, second leading scorer in the Champions League with 10 goals last term, was restrained by team mates after jumping to his feet from the floor and storming towards the substitute.
The fiery forward told reporters in Manila on Saturday that it was a normal reaction to spit after claiming to be verbally abused by the Australian.
Al Shamrani will find out later on Sunday if he has won the AFC’s Player of the Year award. He is up against UAE defender Ismail Ahmed and Qatari playmaker Khalfan Ibrahim.
Follow our sports coverage on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Queen
Nicki Minaj
(Young Money/Cash Money)
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
New schools in Dubai
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'The%20Alchemist's%20Euphoria'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Kasabian%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EColumbia%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
