Reds ordered to play off for ACL spot

The Reds, two months after being drawn into the competition proper, have been informed by the AFC that they will have to face the little known Indonesian club from Papua in a one-off play-off on Thursday night for the right to play in the group stages.

The match will be played at Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide.

The CAS has blatantly thumbed its nose at the AFC and flatly rejected its appeal aimed at dismissing the Persipura club which does not form part of the newly formed Indonesian federation and plays in a rebel Super League.

Adelaide chairman Greg Griffin said that he was shocked by CAS's intransigence but said the club won't appeal the decision.

The dramatic sequence of events spanning three continents has stunned the Adelaide club that is looking to the prestigious Champions League as a means of making up for a disappointing A-League campaign that sees the team in second-bottom spot on the ladder.

”The AFC prepared and submitted a 63-page document detailing why Persipura should not be in the competition but it was refused and ignored by the CAS,” an angry Griffin said.

”CAS simply rejected the AFC's case point blank.

”This matter should have been handled in the Asia-Pacific not in Lausanne.

”The reason this happened is that all the lawyers working for Persipura are based in Switzerland.

”This is incredible ... a joke and a farce.

”The only good thing about this whole saga is that we will play the game at home.”

Adelaide was supposed to meet Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor on 6 March in its first match in Group E that also comprises Japan's Gamba Osaka and the winner of a play-off between Korea Republic's Pohang Steelers and Thailand's Chonburi.

The Champions League offers handsome financial rewards to those clubs that survive the group phase to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition.

Adelaide, which reached the 2008 final against all the odds, would miss a chance of securing a financial windfall if it fails to beat Persipura.

Adelaide has spent about $100,000 on travel and accommodation arrangements for its trip to Tashkent to face Bunyodkor.

Contrary to its previous announcement, the AFC said the loser of the play-off won't take part in the less glamorous AFC Cup.

The governing body ruled that the losing team would not drop into the AFC Cup so as to “maintain the match fixtures and integrity” of the second-tier competition.

Fox Sports was also taken by surprise by the Persipura development but will cover the match live.