THE Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has taken disciplinary action against Al Ahli defender Ali Majrashi following an incident involving Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) player Jairo during last Friday’s AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) quarter-final.
The AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee handed Majrashi a three-match suspension after finding him guilty of serious foul play under Article 47 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code.
The incident occurred in the 36th minute at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in Jeddah, when Majrashi’s attempted bicycle kick to clear the ball struck Jairo in the face.
As a result, Jairo suffered a mouth injury and required stitches to his lip.
The three-match suspension includes an automatic one-match ban already served during the match against Vissel Kobe on April 20 and also rules Majrashi out of the ACLE final.
The remaining two matches will be carried forward to future fixtures in accordance with Article 38 of the AFC Disciplinary Code.
In addition to the suspension, Majrashi has been fined US$2,000 (RM7,900), payable within 30 days.
Meanwhile, Al Ahli was also penalised, receiving a US$7,000 (RM27,674) fine for team misconduct.
This included a US$3,500 fine for breaching Article 15 of the AFC Competition Operations Manual after delaying the start of the second half by three minutes and 20 seconds — their fourth such offence.
The remaining US$3,500 fine was imposed under Article 53.1 of the AFC Disciplinary Code after six of their players were sanctioned by the referee during the match.