Hiroshima stripped of victory after fielding suspended player
March 9 (Reuters) - Sanfrecce Hiroshima had their Asian Champions League Two quarter-final first leg win over Lion City Sailors overturned after the Asian Football Confederation deemed the Japanese club to have fielded a suspended player.
The J-League outfit secured a 6-1 victory over the Singaporeans in Hiroshima on Wednesday but must forfeit the match for fielding Valere Germain, who should have been serving a three-match ban, the confederation announced late on Saturday.
Lion City were awarded a 3-0 first leg win, while Hiroshima received a $1,000 fine and forfeited half their $160,000 participation fee.
Germain joined Hiroshima from Australia's Macarthur FC last month and was included in Sanfrecce's squad to play Lion City before completing his suspension for conduct in last year's AFC Cup competition.
The French forward came on in the second half against Lion City and netted his side's sixth goal with 16 minutes remaining as Hiroshima looked set to cruise into the semi-finals of the continental competition.
Hiroshima will now go into Wednesday's second leg at Singapore's Jalan Besar Stadium needing to overturn a three-goal deficit to advance to the last four.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Rhyl Journal
44 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Illinois and Candelari on course for Gold Cup showdown
There is a vacancy at the top of the staying tree after the recent retirement of O'Brien's dual Gold Cup hero, but hopes are high Illinois could prove a ready-made replacement judged on his impressive Ormonde Stakes success at Chester. O'Brien has also confirmed Coronation Cup hero Jan Brueghel, but Illinois is poised for a mouthwatering showdown with Graffard's French raider, who announced himself at the top-level with a sublime performance at ParisLongchamp in the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier. John and Thady Gosden's Trawlerman and Sweet William have been regular bridesmaids to Kyprios and now have the chance of their moment in the spotlight, with the former winning well in his Sandown reappearance. Andrew Balding's Coltrane is another regular in this event, but he will have to reverse Sagaro Stakes form with Michael Bell's Yashin to make his presence felt, with Bell looking to recreate the Gold Cup exploits of Big Orange from 2017. Saeed bin Suroor has confirmed Dubai Gold Cup scorer Dubai Future, with James Ferguson's Wonder Legend given the chance to transfer his smart all-weather form on turf. The 10-strong list is rounded off by Alan King's stalwart Trueshan, although the warm weather has the potential to once again scupper any hope of him appearing in this race.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Opelka upsets Medvedev to reach semis in Den Bosch
'S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands, June 13 (Reuters) - American lucky loser Reilly Opelka put up an intense battle to stun top seed Daniil Medvedev 7-6(5) 7-6(5) and reach the Libema Open semi-finals in Den Bosch on Friday. Medvedev, who on Thursday edged a first set tiebreak against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, hit three double faults in the second set tiebreak and five overall, compared to no such error by Opelka, who also hit 24 aces. The 2021 U.S. Open champion, currently ranked 11th in the world, needed to match or better Ben Shelton's result in Stuttgart this week to return to Top 10 on Monday. The American, ranked 12th, will beat him to it after he overcame Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-4 6-4 to advance to the Stuttgart semi-finals. Former Wimbledon junior champion Opelka will contest a an ATP grasscourt semi-final for the second time in his career having reached the same stage at Newport last year. He will face Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal or Belgium's Zizou Bergs on Saturday for a spot in the final. French second seed Ugo Humbert will play Canadian Gabriel Diallo in the other semi. Diallo knocked out third seed Karen Khachanov 7-6(6) 6-4 while the Frenchman eliminated Portuguese Nuno Borges, seeded seventh, 6-1 6-4. In the women's draw, second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova came from a set down to beat Veronika Kudermetova 5-7 6-4 6-2. In the semi-finals, she will face Belgian third seed Elise Mertens, who ousted China's Yue Yuan 6-0 6-4. Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse upset Canadian wildcard Bianca Andreescu 6-2 6-4 and will face Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Zverev sets up Stuttgart semi-final with impressive Shelton, Fritz also through
June 13 (Reuters) - Top seed and home favourite Alexander Zverev beat Brandon Nakashima 7-5 6-4 to advance to the semi-finals of the Stuttgart Open on Friday while Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton also reached the last four. Zverev is seeking his first grasscourt title and he was involved in a tight opening set which was tied at 5-5 when the German switched gears in the final two games to clinch it. But Zverev was far more dominant against his American opponent in the second set as he finished the match with 31 winners in a contest that lasted 90 minutes. "I'm in the semi-finals now and now I really want to focus on trying to do the best I can," Zverev said. "I know the opponents are going to get tougher but I'm really happy on the court right now I'm really happy in Stuttgart and I'm looking forward to the next two days." Zverev will play third seed Shelton next after the American, who was virtually unstoppable on his first serve, beat Jiri Lehecka 6-4 6-4, firing 18 aces. Shelton was so dominant in the second set that he did not lose a single point on serve while he won 100% of his first-serve points in the match, with victory ensuring he will break into the top 10 for the first time in his career. Marton Fucsovics had beaten Fritz in straight sets in Stuttgart two years ago but this time the American, who has yet to drop a set at the tournament, came out on top in a dominant 6-3 6-4 victory. Although Fritz was involved in some long baseline rallies, he relied on his serve, sending 12 aces past the Hungarian to set up a semi-final clash with Felix Auger-Aliassime, who beat the 17-year-old German Justin Engel 7-6(3) 6-3. Engel had claimed his first professional victory on grass earlier this week when he beat James Duckworth, following it up with an upset win over seventh seed Alex Michelsen, but beating Auger-Aliassime proved to be a step too far for the teenager. "His serve was so incredibly good today that I felt pressure in my own service games," Engel said. "But it was great fun playing in front of this crowd again. I can't wait to play here again next year."
