Al Nasr forfeit Asian game over striker's false passport

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – Al Nasr were ordered to forfeit their AFC Champions League quarter-final first leg 3-0 on Monday after Brazilian-born striker Wanderley was found to be playing under a false Indonesian passport.

Wanderley scored Al Nasr’s opener in their 3-0 win over Qatar’s El Jaish, but the Asian Football Confederation named him as an ineligible player and effectively reversed the result ahead of this week’s second leg.

“The Asian Football Confederation disciplinary committee has ordered the AFC Champions League quarter-final first-leg match El Jaish vs Al Nasr… forfeited,” an AFC statement said.

“The committee held, on the basis of information received from various state authorities and after analysing the case file, that the Indonesian passport submitted to register Wanderley was false,” it added.

Wanderley, 27, joined Al Nasr in July and scored the opener in last month’s win over El Jaish, but he was provisionally suspended as doubts emerged over his nationality.

Teams are allowed to field three foreigners in the competition, plus one more if the player has Asian nationality.

The AFC said investigations were continuing into who was responsible for the “forgery or falsification” of Wanderley’s passport.

Al Nasr, who have never reached the Champions League semis before, host El Jaish for the return leg of their quarter-final in Dubai on Wednesday.