Red card from two years ago behind Hamedallah's Asian absence for Al-Taawoun

The old Asian punishment has revealed the reason for Moroccan Abderrazak Hamdallah's absence from the first three matches of Al-Taawoun in the AFC Champions League 2, despite two years having passed since the incident of his expulsion.

The story dates back to May 7, 2024, when the disciplinary committee of the AFC issued a decision to suspend Hamed Allah for three continental matches.

The suspension came after the Moroccan forward was sent off during the match between Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal, after getting into a scuffle with Ali Al-Bulaihi, who was playing for Al-Hilal at the time, in a game that ended in defeat for the Tigers.

The Asian Football Confederation confirmed that the sanction applies to various continental competitions, to be enforced during the player's first Asian participation after the decision is issued.

Abderrazak Hamdallah has left Ittihad after his suspension and joined Al-Shabab, but the team did not participate in any AFC Champions League during the Moroccan striker's time with them.

Abderrazak Hamdallah joined Al-Taawoun at the beginning of the current season, finding himself required to serve a delayed punishment after the team became a participant in the AFC Champions League.

The Moroccan striker will miss the first three matches for Al-Taawoun in the continental tournament due to a suspension issued over two years ago.

Al-Taawoun begin their AFC Champions League campaign on Wednesday evening when they visit Al-Nahda in the first round.

The match between Al-Taawoun and Al-Nahda will take place at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in the Omani capital Muscat, marking the start of the Saudi team's journey in the tournament.