A rare incident

A Gulf Club Champions League match descended into farce on Wednesday, played out with only one side on the pitch and ending in the withdrawal of a Saudi club.

Al-Ettifaq were due to travel to Iraq to face Erbil in the second round of the group stage.

The Saudi side, though, asked for the match to be postponed, citing their inability to travel to Iraq under the current circumstances. The Gulf Football Cup Federation rejected the request, and Al-Ettifaq dug in.

Qatar's "Alkass" channels published footage from the venue. It showed Erbil lined up alone with the match officials, not a single Al-Ettifaq player in sight.

Once the legal waiting time had elapsed, the referee blew his whistle to end the match. Al-Ettifaq were declared to have withdrawn and lost 3-0.

The Gulf Federation is expected to confirm its ruling within the coming hours, with sanctions likely to follow against Al-Ettifaq.

Officials at the Saudi club expect the team to be handed a 3-0 defeat and a financial penalty, according to press reports, without the punishment stretching to the deletion of their results or expulsion from the tournament.

Before the Erbil fixture, Al-Ettifaq topped their group with 3 points, earned from a 2-0 win over Kuwait's Kadhma in the opening round.