Saudi club ordered to play next home match behind closed doors

Kuala Lumpur: Asia’s football body has ordered Saudi club Al Ittihad to play its next Asian Football Confederation (AFC) home match behind closed doors, without any spectators, as a result of fan misbehaviour.

In its latest list of decisions released Friday, the AFC’s Disciplinary Committee said the club’s supporters had thrown bottles at the field on several occasions, with one of them hitting a player from Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv club on March 1.

The football body also suspended Amer Sharifi, a player from Jordan’s Al Wehdat club, for six AFC Cup matches “for offensive behaviour and insulting gestures at the referee”, during a match against Lebanon’s Ahed FC.

The player was also fined $10,000 (Dh36,729) and warned that a repeat violation would result in more severe punishment in the future.