Schaefer banished as Al Ain falter

A three-horse race is now a two-horse one as Al Ain have fallen at the final fence.

The defeat of the double cup winners by Al Jazira means their title charge is all but over. Bragha's team won 2-0 in a bad-tempered affair that saw Andre Diaz sent off and Winfried Schaefer sent to the stands.

They say as you get older, you mellow down. If that's the case then I can't imagine what the Al Ain manager was like a few years ago.

His fire and passion have become the stuff of legend this season and I'd love to see a TV compilation of him trudging to the stands.

He has been evicted to the stands so many times that he would have done better to get a season ticket for most of the grounds in the UAE. The rumour is that he may well choose to sit in the stands from now on but with three games left it may be a little late.

The on-the-field sending off was bizarre to say the least. Diaz was being cautioned by the ref and decided to touch the yellow card while the referee was holding it up.

The referee obviously does not like anyone touching his cards so he immediately changed it to red and Diaz walked off an extremely unhappy man. Al Ahli continued the march to the title and realistically it is theirs to lose.

The 4-1 victory over Sharjah puts them in an incredibly strong position. Al Ain could still have an effect on the title as they play Al Ahli this weekend and Al Jazira will be hoping for a favour.

SHARJAH SHENANIGANS

The strangest story of the week comes from Sharjah where the club decided to drop out of the AFC Champions League to concentrate on the domestic relegation battle. This is your cue to rub your eyes and blink a few times in disbelief, because it's true.

Can you imagine a team in Europe doing the same thing? This will only harm the UFL and may even cause them to lose a place in next year's competition.

You have to feel sorry for CEO Romi Gai and everyone else at the league as all their hard work at getting clubs accepted into the champions league is being undermined.

The relegation battle is extremely tight with three games to go. One of the bigger UAE clubs are staring relegation in the face, Al Shaab and Sharjah could fall through the trap door to the second division.

Al Dhafra have a little breathing space but that could change as they face Al Shaab this weekend. There are some real do-or-die ties at the end of the season. Sharjah face bottom club Al Khaleej this weekend. Next week will be huge as Al Shaab and Sharjah face off in a derby that could decide which club retain their top-flight status next season. I think it will go to the wire at both ends of the table which should make for an exciting finish to the first UFL.