KUALA LUMPUR — Freshly crowned Asian footballer of the year Nasser Al-Shamrani has been handed an eight-match ban for spitting at an opponent during the second leg of last month's Champions League final. Al-Shamrani was at the center of a mass shoving match in Al-Hilal's contentious 1-0 loss to Australia's Western Sydney Wanderers on Nov. 1 following the final in Riyadh. Video footage had showed Al-Shamrani spitting at Wanderers defender Matthew Spiranovic after the Australian club's Champion's league win, prompting the confrontation between the two teams. The Asian Football Confederation said Saturday the ban would be served in future club competition, warning that transgressions would be dealt with more severely. Al Shamrani beat out competition from Al-Ain's Ismail Ahmed and Qatar's Khalfan Ibrahim to take Asian football's top personal accolade at an AFC awards ceremony on Dec. 1 in Manila. Al-Hilal had several penalty appeals waved away over the course of the two Champions League legs. The club later called the second leg “a black spot in the history of Asian football.” 2-game ban on Popovic AFC also dished out a two-game suspension to its coach of the year, Western Sydney Wanderers boss Tony Popovic. Popovic's penalty was for “offensive behavior” at the end of an ill-tempered quarterfinal win over defending champion Guangzhou Evergrande, with the Chinese side also receiving eight punishments relating to the August fixtures. World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi, who has since retired from managing, was given a three-match ban for all future AFC club competitions after angrily confronting the referee who sent off Gao Lin and Zhang Linpeng in the 1-0 first leg loss in Sydney. The Italian's assistant Massimiliano Maddalon and Guangzhou physiotherapist Silvano Cotti were banned for two games and also fined $2,000 along with Popovic. Lippi, who had already been punished with a one-match ban in the second leg of the quarterfinal, was fined $5,000. Saudi coach sacked Three-time Asian champion Saudi Arabia have sacked coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, leaving it rudderless a month before the Asian Cup kicks off in Australia. “Board has decided to cancel Lopez Caro and his assistants' contract,” the Saudi FA said in a statement. “FA President Ahmed Eid will be responsible for negotiating and finalizing a deal with a new coach within a week.” Ex-Real Madrid coach Lopez Caro, who was appointed last year after the sacking of Frank Rijkaard, was under pressure for failing to guide the team to victory in the Gulf Cup in Riyadh last month. Saudi Arabia lost 2-1 in the final to Qatar at King Fahd Stadium. Saudi Arabia is drawn in Group B with Uzbekistan, North Korea and China at the Jan. 9 - 31 Asian Cup. — Agencies
