Qatar FA's disciplinary ruling on Al Shamal game cancels Al Sadd's title party

Qatari side Al Sadd's title-winning celebrations has turned out to be premature after a disciplinary committee overturned a crucial result for rivals Al Shamal on Sunday, making the final match between the two sides a virtual championship showdown.

Qatar Sports Club had beaten Al Shamal 2-0 in the penultimate game to give Al Sadd an unassailable five-point lead ahead of the final round, handing them a third straight title and their 19th overall.

However, that result was overturned, and Qatar SC were handed a 3-0 defeat by the Qatar Football Association for breaching foreign players' regulations during the game.

Al Shamal's successful protest centred on Qatar SC's substitution of Argentine Franco Russo for Ahmed Al-Rawi after Tunisian Ali Saudi was shown a red card.

The protest hinged on the Players' Status Regulations, which state that if a foreign professional player is sent off while six foreign players are on the field, teams cannot replace any of the five Qatari or resident players with another foreign professional and must complete the match with five foreign players.

The disciplinary committee accepted Al Shamal's complaint and also imposed a fine of 10,000 Qatari riyals ($2,747) on Qatar SC.

The decision catapulted Al Shamal to 40 points, just two behind leaders Al Sadd, ahead of the match between the two teams on April 27.

Al Sadd need only a draw to secure the title, while Al Shamal must win to claim their first top division title.