Waleed Murad gets life ban

The National Teams Committee of the UAE FA has suspended Al Nasr Club striker Waleed Murad for life citing indiscipline during the team's Asian qualifiers for the 2004 Olympic Games in Japan last month.

Murad left the UAE camp without permission and failed to appear before the committee on Thursday to explain his actions. Murad, will be eligible to play for his club in domestic competition following a three-match ban.

Midfielder Salah Abbass, also from Al Nasr, escaped a similar fate when he appologised for coming late to the training camp.

Murad was the second player to be suspended for life in the UAE after a similar decision was taken against Zuhair Bakhit in 1997 before the UAE's participation in the FIFA Confederation Cup in Saudi Arabia.

The NTC also decided to submit their proposals regarding the first division league competition to the Competitions Committee following the proposals of national team head coach Jean Francois Jodar.

The Frenchman suggested that the domestic competition should finish on June 3 to give the senior team enough time to prepare for their June 9 match against Yemen in the Asian qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup.

He also has given the players 10 days rest before joining the team's training camp to prepare for teh finals of the Asian Cup which will kick off in China on July 17.

Jodar's plans for preparing the team for the finals of the Asian Cup starts on June 19 with a training camp in Europe which will continue till July 2.

Another training camp wil be held in China from July 5 till the kick off of the competition in Jinan where the UAE will compete in a group that also features South Korea, Kuwait and Jordan.

The NTC suggested that an official league competition for under 12 years should be organised from next season to preprare players to take part with the UAE olympic team in 2008 Olympic Games.

The NTC meeting was headed by Khalif Faris, the chairman of the NTC, and was attended by Yousuf Al Sirkal, the Chairman of the UAE FA.