Asian club competitions reshuffled after Myanmar withdraws

By: The Associated Press Posted: 3:06 AM CDT Friday, Apr. 30, 2021

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The Asian Football Confederation has amended the schedule for two tiers of its continental club championships after the Myanmar Football Federation withdrew Hantharwady United FC and Shan United FC from the 2021 competitions.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/04/2021 (1934 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The Asian Football Confederation has amended the schedule for two tiers of its continental club championships after the Myanmar Football Federation withdrew Hantharwady United FC and Shan United FC from the 2021 competitions.

The AFC issued a statement Friday saying its competitions committee “noted and acknowledged the challenges as well as the present complexities caused by the state of emergency in Myanmar and decided that the situation constituted an event of force majeure.”

More than 700 protesters and bystanders have been killed by security forces in Myanmar since the Feb. 1 coup, according to several detailed estimates. The junta’s own figure is roughly one-third of that. The military also denies using disproportionate force to put down what it describes as rioting.

With the Myanmar clubs out of the regional soccer competitions, the AFC has cancelled an AFC Champions League preliminary stage match between Shan United FC and Australia’s Melbourne City, which will now advance directly to a playoff against Cerezo Osaka from Japan.

With Hantharwady United FC out of playoff contention in the second-tier AFC Cup, the AFC has decided that FC Chanthabouly of Laos and Brunei’s Kasuka FC will now compete for a direct slot in Group G.

___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports