AFC - The AFC Executive Committee has dismissed
the reinstatement appeal of Esteghlal Tehran of Iran who were disqualified
from participating in the 2007 edition of the AFC Champions League two weeks
ago.
Esteghlal Tehran put in an appeal last Monday but the AFC Executive
Committee turned it down today after a thorough review.
The Iran Pro League defending champions were expelled from the AFC Champions
League on February 16 for failing to submit their preliminary player
registration forms by the February 11, 2007, deadline.
AFC disqualified the club after invoking Article 30 (F) (i) of the
competition regulations which states that: "Each club entering the
Competition shall send to the AFC Secretariat a squad list of no more than
thirty (30) players for the Competition by 11 February, 2007. Any Club that
does not submit their registration by the registration deadline shall be
automatically disqualified from the Competition. In this situation, the team
will be deemed to have lost all their matches by a score of 3–0."
The dismissal of Esteghlal’s appeal means there will be only three teams -
Pakhtakor (Uzbekistan), Kuwait Sports Club (Kuwait) and Al Hilal (Saudi
Arabia) – in Group B while Sepahan, who have been drawn in Group D with Al
Ain (UAE), Al Ittihad (Syria) and Al Shabab (Saudi Arabia), carry Iran’s
hopes in the continental showpiece as the sole representatives.
