Al Gharafa awarded win over Al Markhiya

Doha:  The Qatar Football Association’s Disciplinary Committee made a number of decisions yesterday concerning the QNB Stars League’s Week 18 matches. The Disciplinary Committee decided that Al Markhiya’s 3-2 victory against Al Gharafa will be overturned and the latter is awarded a 3-0 win for breach of rules regarding fielding resident players in the QNB Stars League matches.Al Gharafa had lodged an official complaint against Al Markhiya after the match, claiming that the rivals fielded six resident players which was a clear violation of the rule. The number of resident players to be included in the team list in the QNB Stars League fixtures should not exceed five. The Disciplinary Committee also imposed a fine of QR10,000 on Umm Salal coach Talal el-Karkouri for misconduct. Similarly, Al Khor’s Castan Silva also received a fine of QR10,000 for dissent against the referee. Meanwhile, Al Gharafa coach Bulent Uygun said it will be difficult game against Al Rayyan today. “We are passing through a tough phase with the AFC Champions League also. The same is the case with Al Duhail, Al Sadd and Al Rayyan. Yet, we are trying hard to achieve our goals,” he said“No doubt, it will be tough against Al Rayyan. They are going strong and they keep scoring a lot of goals. They have players of high calibre. However, our ambition is to win all matches. I will be forced to make some changes in view of the AFC engagements in between,” he added.