Papas was delighted to accept the opportunity to continue his development as a coach overseas and to be involved in Indian football at a time of great change.

"I'm only 32, and it's a very exciting time to be involved in Indian football. I think it is very important for my coaching education to coach across Asia," Papas said.

"With a huge population, FIFA is very keen to grow the game there... I'm very keen to show what I can offer."

It will be a whirlwind couple of weeks for Papas as he goes into camp with the Indian side on 1 June in Dubai.

The squad has organised a 10-day training camp at the quarters of UAE club Al-Wasl, coached by Diego Maradona, and hopes to organise a friendly match against the Argentine's team as preparation for the AFC under-22 Asian Cup qualifying campaign beginning next month.

After the tournament in Oman, Papas will continue coaching the side in the domestic I-League where it plays as Pailan Arrows.

"The fact that the players play together in the national domestic league is a positive for Indian football," Papas said.

Papas who has a track record of developing young talent is under no illusions about the challenge that awaits him on the sub-continent.

"India is not the strongest in world football right now, but there is a lot of talent in the players over there and coaching them technically is a work in progress.

"Indian football is undergoing a change of philosophy about how they play the game.

"In a way, they're in a very similar position to where Australia was a few years ago when we were trying to implement a national system.

"Down the track, if we do well in the (Asian Cup) qualifying matches, I may even get the chance to coach against Australia."

The host opened the scoring two minutes before the interval with a curling shot from Shinji Kagawa.

Shinji Okazaki then added another after 57 minutes, poking home a headed assist from Keisuke Honda.

Japan will face Oman, Jordan and Australia in World Cup qualifiers next month.

Mark Hughes' side, which secured its top-flight status on the final day of the season despite a dramatic late defeat at champion Manchester City, will play two friendly fixtures in Thailand and Malaysia during July.

QPR chairman Tony Fernandes, who is also boss of AirAsia, told the club's official website: "We are very excited and honoured to be heading to Asia for our pre-season tour.

"The fans in Asia have embraced QPR since we became involved with the club and it's great that we can give so many of them a chance to come and watch the team play for the first time.

"It is a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase our brand in this part of the world.

"This brings QPR to the global stage which is critical to our commercial efforts."

The Hoops will play a Thai All Star XI at the 60,000 capacity Ramajangala National Stadium in Bangkok on 14 July before heading to Malaysia and a game against a Football Association of Sabah Select team in Kota Kinabalu.

It remains to be seen whether captain Joey Barton will be part of Hughes' pre-season plans.

The controversial midfielder was set for a personal hearing after the Football Association charged him with two acts of violent conduct since his sending-off at Manchester City.

Barton was shown a red card for elbowing Carlos Tevez and then kicked Sergio Aguero before attempting to headbutt Vincent Kompany.

He will receive an automatic four-match ban as it was his second dismissal of the season, and could receive three-match suspensions for each of the violent conduct charges.

On top of that, the FA's regulatory panel will have discretionary powers to further increase the length of the suspension if charges are found to be proven.

The final phase of Australia's World Cup qualifying journey starts with travel to Muscat - and the peak of the region's summer - on June 8.

While Kennedy, a standout with Japanese club Nagoya Grampus since 2009, is looking forward to taking on his J.League counterparts on Australian soil on June 12, the challenge of playing Oman is foremost in his mind.

Oman, buoyed by its first phase 1-0 triumph over Australia in November, will host the Socceroos in conditions that, at their worst, could reach 40C.

Kennedy warns that match will be a big challenge for several reasons.

"I think we've seen that we can't underestimate anyone," said Kennedy.

"They (Oman) will think they can do the same thing (beat Australia) obviously, they did it last time.

"It's going to be tough conditions as well with the weather, and a lot of the boys now, from Europe, are in an off-season.

"All these little things that we really need to concentrate on, we need to come together as a team and do it."

Domestically, Kennedy has been making the most of a stop-start campaign in the J.League, where he has missed the odd game due to a back injury.

Now recovering from his early season ailment, Kennedy has been in sound goal-scoring touch for his club - netting three times this season - after slotting eight goals in green and gold throughout 2011.

One of the more prolific marksmen chosen by coach Holger Osieck in the 30-man squad for next month's matches, Kennedy will share goal-scoring responsibilities with experienced trio Tim Cahill, Brett Holman and Harry Kewell, along with emerging stars Robbie Kruse and Nikita Rukavytsya.

"I guess it gets down to the serious end of it all, every game counts and you can't slip up," said Kennedy.

"I definitely want to be a part of things and just like in the last round of qualification, help the team win games, score goals and get us through to Brazil.

"Obviously there is still a few old faces from when I was first involved. I also think there's enough talent coming through to carry us on past this World Cup and the next one.

"It's an exciting time."

Since missing the 2011 Asian Cup through injury, Kennedy has regained his standing as one of the team's cornerstone members under Osieck.

After nine years playing in Germany, bilingual Kennedy has evidently struck up a good working relationship with German Osieck.

"I like it (working with Osieck) very much, to be honest," said Kennedy, who has found the back of the net eight times from as many appearances under Osieck.

"I think I understand him maybe a little bit more than the others with his German but he's enjoyable to work under.

"He's honest and he gets down to business and doesn't muck around."

The game had finished 2-2 after regulation time after Brazilian Ricardo Oliveira and Matias Emilio Delgado's goals had been cancelled out by Marcelo Camacho and Amad al-Hosani.

The game went into overtime and was equally as dramatic, as former Brazil and AC Milan marksman Oliveira's second goal in the 114th minute was nullified by compatriot Victor Simoes four minutes later.

And so came the penalty shoot-out. Camacho, Abdullah al-Muaiouf and Esmaeel Khamis Zayed all scored for Al-Ahli, while Oliveira's opening attempt was saved before teammate Sultan Jarallah al-Menhali netted his effort.

Jairo Palomino added some extra drama in missing his penalty for Al-Ahli, with Neill next up to haul Al-Jazira back into the game.

But the Socceroo captain missed and it was left to journeyman Simoes to seal a 4-2 victory on penalties for Al-Ahli over the team of billionaire Sheikh Mansour, who also owns newly crowned English champion Manchester City.

In Tuesday's other match, Iranian champion Foolad Sepahan beat domestic rival Esteghlal 2-0.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabian clubs Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal entertain Iran's Piroozi Athletic in Jeddah and the UAE's Baniyas in Riyadh respectively.

There was no immediate comment from Shenhua about British reports that Anelka's former team-mate Didier Drogba, fresh from his Champion's League triumph with Chelsea, is set to join the side.

Former Argentina manager Sergio Daniel Batista has been tipped for the coach's job, and Shenhua's star player Anelka is said to be threatening to quit the club in response, according to reports.

"The club has actively sought a head coach candidate, and is looking for him to take up the post and assume command soon," the club said in a statement.

The impending arrival of a new head coach has sparked a public outburst by the striker, who told local media that he was considering leaving.

Anelka is serving dual roles for Shenhua, although the club also named former DR Congo national manager Jean-Florent Ikwange Ibenge as acting head coach after sacking Frenchman Jean Tigana last month.

The Shenhua statement added the club "hopes he (Anelka) will help the new coaching group to quickly become acquainted with the state of the team without delay".

The Shanghai Daily newspaper reported Shenhua was close to signing Batista, who led Argentina to the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Speaking in an interview with the Xinmin Evening News published on Monday, Anelka criticised a lack of support from the club and said he would find it difficult to accept someone taking over his coaching duties.

"If there is still no one to support me and (they) continue to play little tricks behind my back... then I will quickly decide whether or not to retire," he said, in comments published in Chinese.

Anelka, the most high-profile foreign footballer to sign for the Chinese league, joined Shenhua in January on a two-year contract for a reported salary of 234,000 euros ($A307,000) a week.

Shenhua could not be reached for comment.

Drogba has been widely rumoured to be quitting Chelsea for Shenhua to join Anelka, his former team-mate at the London club.

Now Lippi, one of the world's most successful managers, is facing one of his trickiest tests in the trigger-happy Chinese Super League (CSL) with his new club, Guangzhou Evergrande.

On Sunday, the white-haired Lippi, 64, whose last assignment was leading defending champion Italy at the 2010 World Cup, started his new life with a narrow 1-0 home win over basement club Qingdao Joonon.

Around 40,000 fans flocked to Guangzhou's Tianhe stadium to see Lippi, the most famous coach to join a Chinese team, with many wearing the shirts of Juventus, his former team, and one banner reading "Forza Li Pi".

Supporters chanted Lippi's name constantly in a hero's welcome for the man who won the 2006 World Cup with Italy - and who is now expected to deliver the Asian club title for the vastly ambitious Guangzhou.

"I'm not interested in the score, no matter if it's three or four nil, my task is to take this club to a higher level," Lippi said after the game, won by a goal from Chinese international Gao Lin.

With the reigning Chinese champion already top of the league, Lippi's task begins in earnest next Wednesday, when he will attempt to steer Guangzhou past FC Tokyo and into the AFC Champions League quarter-finals.

It's a daunting challenge: a one-off game, just two weeks into the job, with an unfamiliar group of players. And in China, as other coaches have learned, the price of failure can be high.

Last month Jean Tigana, then the Super League's highest profile coach, departed Shanghai Shenhua after just a handful of games, and was replaced by a makeshift coaching line-up including French striker Nicolas Anelka.

And Guangzhou showed no emotion with Lippi's predecessor Lee Jang-Soo, who won promotion and then the Chinese title in consecutive seasons, and was sacked with the club leading the league and qualified for the continental knock-outs.

Lee had squabbled with star player Dario Conca, who received a nine-match ban for publicly criticising the coach - a ban that was quietly shelved as he played in last week's Champions League game, and again on Sunday.

Lippi has experience in dealing with assertive players at Juventus, with whom he won five Serie A titles and the European Champions League, as well as expectant team bosses.

But a cautionary tale comes from Australian Lawrie McKinna, who left China's Chengdu Blades last year over boardroom interference and quickly found a similar situation at his next club, Chongqing Lifan.

"I got called into the boss's room and he started to tell me a few of the older players I had not been playing had to come back in to the team," McKinna wrote in al blog.

"I could not agree with what he was saying and so decided to hand in my resignation as I had been through this at Chengdu last year and was not going to go through it again."

Lippi's last job ended badly, when reigning champion Italy was knocked out of the 2010 World Cup at the group stage, and it was nearly a year before he said he was ready to coach again. He will hope for happier times in China.

The team from the United Arab Emirates go into the first knockout round of the competition at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium after dominating Group A.

It finished top of the pool by five points, winning five and drawing one of its six games, while its Saudi opponent finished behind Iranian outfit Sepahan in Group C.

"The match is the most important match this season as winning against Al Ahli means that we will qualify for the quarter-finals and get closer to the final four of the competition," Brazilian coach Caio said on www.the-afc.com.

Striker Ricardo Oliveira has been the driving force behind Al Jazira's impressive campaign so far, with 10 goals, including all four in its 4-3 win over Qatar's Al Rayyan last week.

Caio added: "I have great confidence in my players who will go into the game with big spirits.

"We have given our key players some rest in the previous match against Al Rayyan and hopefully the players can give their best against Al Ahli."

Al Ahli is not short on confidence, though, having won the Kings Cup on Friday.

But coach Karel Jarolim wants his players to forget about that victory and concentrate on Wednesday's (01:45 AEST) match.

"The match against Al Jazira is important for us and we have asked the players to focus on this game and forget the celebrations of winning the King's Cup recently. We have a new match and we must put a lot of effort in it," Jarolim said.

"The match is very hard for the two teams and hopefully we can give our best in this game.

"The players that we have are good but they must have a good performance and get a good result to please our big fans."

Also on Wednesday, Sepahan host fellow Iranian side Esteghlal, the team who finished runners-up to Al-Jazira in the group stage.

On Thursday (AEST), Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal, winner of Group D, host Baniyas of the UAE and Group B winner Al-Ittihad, also from Saudi Arabia, welcomes Iranian side Persepolis.

The game appeared to be drifting towards a goalless stalemate before Du popped up in stoppage time to hand the visitor its fourth win of the campaign.

The win sees Hangzhou climb to sixth in the standings, seven points shy of leader Guangzhou Evergrande, while Shanxi stay 10th.

Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni also named Inter Milan defender Yuto Nagatomo and Bolton Wanderers striker Ryo Miyaichi for next Wednesday's Kirin Cup game, which serves as a tune-up ahead of three final-round World Cup qualifiers in June against Oman, Jordan and Australia.

Kagawa is back in Japan after helping Borussia Dortmund to its second straight Bundesliga championship and DFB Pokal victory.

CSKA Moscow midfielder Honda will make his first appearance for Japan since scoring in a 3-0 win over Korea Republic last summer.

Japan's Kirin Cup squad:

Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Lierse), Shusaku ishikawa (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Shuichi Gonda (FC Tokyo).

Defenders: Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Yuzo Kurihara (Yokohama F. Marinos), Yuhei Tokunga (FC Tokyo), Masahiko Inoha (Vissel Kobe), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan), Tomoaki Makino (Urawa Reds), Atsuto Uchida (Schalke 04), Hiroki Sakai (Kashiwa Reysol).

Midfielders: Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg), Hajime Hosogai (Augsburg), Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow), Hideto Takahashi (FC Tokyo), Ariajasuru Hasegawa (FC Tokyo).

Forwards: Ryoichi Maeda (Jubilo Iwata), Shinji Okozaki (Stuttgart), Takayuki Morimoto (Novara), Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund), Genki Haragichi (Urawa Reds), Ryo Miyaichi (Bolton).

Gafurov struck three minutes after half-time at JAR Stadium to earn a victory which lifts the Uzbek side a point ahead of its South Korean opponent into second place in Group E.

Adelaide United topped the group after a 2-0 win over Gamba Osaka, who went into the game knowing it could not qualify.

Both goals came from substitutes, though Adelaide coach Luciano Trani can take only half the credit as Sergio van Dijk's opener was added to by an own goal from Gamba's Akihiro Sato, who turned Cassio's cross past goalkeeper Yosuke Fujigaya.

Adelaide duly wrapped up a double over its conqueror in the 2008 final and will take on Nagoya Grampus in the first knockout round.

Ulsan Hyundai qualified as unbeaten Group F winner after a fortunate 1-0 victory against FC Tokyo.

Kazuma Watanabe hit the post for the J.League side before Kang Min-soo put Ulsan ahead, following up after Maranhao headed against the crossbar.

Tokyo hit the woodwork again late on, substitute Yohei Kajiyama's low shot bouncing off the base of the post, and Ulsan coach Kim Ho-gon admitted improvement is needed when his side again faces Japanese opposition in the last 16.

"Even though we won the game, I cannot say it was good because our players couldn't do well due to the burden," he said. "This is something we need to improve for the next game.

"We will have a game against Kashiwa, who were the champions of the 2011 J.League, at home, so we have to prepare well."

A-League champion Brisbane Roar was frustrated by Beijing Guoan as both sides bowed out of the competition with a 1-1 draw at the Suncorp Stadium.

Besart Berisha put Brisbane ahead after 15 minutes, getting on the end of a fine move involving Mitch Nichols and Kofi Danning, but Li Hanbo powerfully equalised nine minutes later and the Australian side was unable to find a winner despite dominating the game.

Madrid finished its season after winning a record 32nd league title by taking on Kuwait, who is ranked 86th in the world by FIFA.

Maria opened the scoring for Madrid in the 26th minute after receiving a pass from Mesut Ozil.

Ronaldo, who led his team with 46 goals this season, doubled the lead five minutes later when he headed into the net from close range.

Kuwait threatened several times in the second-half but couldn't beat goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Now he wants to play an active part in the blue riband event of Asian club football with Guangzhou R&F.

Griffiths quit the Mariners in the second part of the last A-League season to sign a two-year contract with the Chinese club.

"I was really, really looking forward to playing in this year's ACL before the opportunity to join Guangzhou came up," the 24-year-old said.

"I always wanted to play against the best Asian teams and in a way it's a shame I'm not playing for the Mariners anymore.

"I'm disappointed also because they are a great group of boys.

"I still support them and I followed their match against Nagoya Grampus online, same as I have done for all their A-League and ACL matches since I left.

"I thought they did particularly well to get that 5-1 win over Tianjin two weeks ago."

Guangzhou's strong start to the Chinese Super League season has rekindled English-born Griffiths's dream of playing in the ACL.

The team trails leader and crosstown rival Guangzhou Evergrande by one point after 10 matches and if current form is maintained, Griffiths should reach his Asian ambition in 2013.

"The chance to play in my first ACL is providing me with an incentive to do well with Guangzhou and finish in the top three, which would guarantee us participation," he said.

"Our coach (Sergio Farias) is pretty keen to get back in the ACL because he has won it in 2009 with Pohang Steelers.

"The fans now realise that we are going to be quite competitive this season and the big boss who owns the club has told us he is expecting us to go on and make the ACL next season."

Griffiths, who made his name as a skilful defensive midfielder with North Queensland Fury and later with the Mariners, said he was taken aback by the overall level of the Super League.

"I've been surprised with the standard actually," he said.

"The games are quite good and the players generally have high individual technique.

"The weather's a bit cooler so the pace tends to be faster than that in Australia.

"The main difference is over here play is less structured because players do not have the same tactical discipline you find in the A-League.

"My Aussie 'background' has come in handy because I'm probably the only one in the team who sticks to his position for the whole match and keeps the team ticking over.

"The forwards generally do not track back when we lose the ball so that gives us at the back more work ... thankfully our four defenders are pretty solid."

Griffiths is one of five foreigners in the Guangzhou club that is chasing its first Chinese championship.

The other four are Brazilian, same as coach Farias.

"We play with four at the back, three in the middle and three up front and I'm the defensive midfielder," Griffiths explained.

"Two of the Brazilians are pretty good, especially our No 10 Davi, and we've also got a couple of talented Chinese blokes.

"The coach likes us to pass the ball, dominate possession and attack as much as possible but in some games, because the attackers are just attackers and don't defend, we have to do a lot of defending."

Griffiths said he has just about adjusted to life in southern China and was pleased to note that the city of Guangzhou was as appealing and easy to live in as he was led to believe.

"I was told by the club that it is one of the best in China and I'm enjoying the city because it is modern and clean and has a 'western' feel to it," he said.

"The food is good and there are many places serving 'western' fare.

"You see some things you are not used to in some takeaway places but touch wood I have never been sick."

Griffiths has become a popular figure among Guangzhou's fans and he was invited to join the Chinese version of Twitter called Weibo. What followed staggered him.

"I got a 1000 followers on the first day and I'm up to about 3000 now and I've been on it for only five days," he said.

"The problem is that the vast majority of the tweets are in Chinese and I can't understand a thing. Thankfully some of them are in English."

"I wish to benefit Al Sadd and the Qatari football with my experience especially that Qatar is on the verge of (hosting) an important event, which is the 2022 World Cup," Raul said on Monday.

After the signing, he showed his new shirt with his legendary number 7 shirt he held at Real Madrid and the Germany's Schalke.

"Negotiations began three months ago," Jassim al-Rumaihi, Secretary-General of Al Sadd, told a news conference. "We are very proud to have a great player as Raul with us."

Raul, 34, said he discussed his move with Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, who previously played for Qatar's Al Ahly club from 2003 until 2005.

"He told me that football in Qatar is on the move... I think I can give my experience to this club," he added.

He denied that he left Real Madrid due to any disagreements but because he felt that time has come for a new experience.

Asked if he was going to turn to coaching after his contract ends, Raul said: "The important thing for me is to continue playing, training is out of the question at present."

Raul spent his playing career at Real until he was no longer wanted there.

He joined Schalke in what was then seen as a surprise, but scored 28 Bundesliga goals in 66 games and took his all-time Champions League record tally to 71 as Schalke reached the semi-finals last year.

Only a win in its final group stage match at Nagoya's Mizuho Athletic Stadium on Tuesday night will do for the Mariners if the team is to join A-League counterpart Adelaide United in the round of 16.

"For me, this game is as big as a grand final and to get into the second round of the Asian Champions League would be a fantastic achievement," said Arnold, relishing the challenge after extending his contract with the A-League table-topper last week.

"The players, they know how big this game is and they know what to do so we'll be ready."

Save for last month's 5-0 thrashing away to Korean outfit Seongnam Ilhwa, the Mariners' Asian form has been sound, with one win and three draws from its other Group G fixtures.

Its opponent on Tuesday - one point ahead of the Mariners in the Group G standings - remains favourite to progress to the knockout stage, but has been unconvincing in the early stages of the J-League season.

Indeed, before Saturday's 1-0 triumph over Vissel Kobe - a match attended by Arnold - Nagoya, home of Socceroos striker Josh Kennedy, had gone one month without winning a competitive fixture.

Nevertheless, the host side presents a formidable challenge with so much at stake as the Mariners eye a first appearance in the last 16.

"There's been plenty of big games in the past for myself but for the players I think this is probably one of the biggest games they've ever played in," said Arnold.

"It would be massive (to progress), you've seen Adelaide are in good form and they've done the country proud in what they're doing and we're trying to do the same thing.

"This will be Nagoya's third game in a week and if we go out and play to our normal structure and enjoy the occasion, it's definitely a game we can win."

Mariners skipper Alex Wilkinson said a win on Tuesday would not only be a major achievement for the club but for the A-League as a whole.

"We've had a few big games in the club's history, obviously grand finals and playing for premierships, but it definitely ranks up there," Wilkinson said.

"Not a lot of people realise how big the AFC Champions League is, but as a playing group we realise that to make the last 16 in Asia would be a huge achievement for the club.

"To have two Australian teams qualify for the last 16 in Asia would be a massive result for the A-League."

The draw was conducted in Dubai, which will be the host city for the tournament.

Australia was seeded in Pot 1 as the third-ranked team in the competition along with host nation UAE, DPR Korea and Korea Republic after results in the 2010 edition of the championship were considered.

Head coach Paul Okon knows that it will be a tough challenge to get through the group phase but is confident his players are up to the task.

"It’s definitely a tough draw but then again there are no easy games in international football at this level,” Okon said.

"We’ll have to be at our best to get through to the knockout stage and with the players that we have at our disposal this is an achievable goal.

"Our first training camp together will be early next month and with the draw now known we can all focus on the task at hand.”

The four semi-finalists will also qualify automatically for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Turkey from 21 June to 13 July 2013.

AFC Under-19 Championship 2012 Iran

The 34-year-old announced last month that he would be leaving Schalke 04 at the end of the campaign, despite having proven a hit in Gelsenkirchen since arriving from Real Madrid in 2010.

His destination was unknown but Al Sadd said on its website that he will be their player for the 2012-2013 campaign.

"Al Sadd will hold a press conference on Sunday, May 13 to present Spanish star Raul Gonzalez, who is contracted to the team for the 2012-2013 season," the club statement read.

It was up against it from the off thanks to Yan Xiangchuang's ninth-minute opener and, although it equalised through Sheng Qin (42'), second-half goals from Zhu Ting and Martin Kamburov saw it off.

Beijing Guoan is up to third after a 2-1 win over Guizhou Renhe.

It had to come from behind to do it, with second-half strikes from Andrija Kaluderovic and Piao Cheng overturning Zlatan Muslimovic's opener.

Elsewhere, second-period goals from Sjoerd Ars and Milan Susak guided Tianjin Taida to a 2-0 success over Shandong Luneng.

Motors, who beat Ulsan in the play-off final to win last year's title, sped into a two-goal lead through Eninho (12') and Hugo Droguett (16').

Ulsan halved the deficit through Lee Keun-ho seven minutes from time but it was unable to avoid only its second defeat in the first 12 games of the 2012 campaign.

Ulsan leads the league by one point from Suwon Bluewings, who plays on Sunday.

Daejeon Citizen remains bottom of the league after a goalless draw at Pohang Steelers, with second-bottom Incheon United going down 1-0 away to Seongnam Chunma, as Han Sang-woon netted the only goal in the 90th minute.

Thursday's draw for the Asian championship in Iran puts them in a winnable Group B.

They need to make the semi-finals of the tournament to qualify for the World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in late 2013.

Joeys head coach Alistair Edwards is excited about the challenges his young squad will face in Asia.

"The standard of youth football throughout Asia has risen considerably over the past decade," Edwards said.

"There are no longer any easy games, which I think is a positive development.

"At the recent qualifying tournament we lost to Thailand (3-2) so that gives you an indication of how competitive it is going to be to qualify for the World Cup."

The Joeys will prepare for the championship with trips to Laos, Saudi Arabia and Bolivia.

Australia play Thailand in its first match at the championships in Tehran on 22 September.

Knight is optimistic about his team's chances at the tournament that also serves as the qualification tournament for the FIFA Futsal World Cup, which will be held in Thailand later this year.

"I am extremely pleased with the final selection of players for the Championship. All the players in the extended squad worked very hard over the last few weeks and made the selection process a very difficult one," Knight said.

"Our first match against Qatar is going to be crucial in the overall context of the tournament and in terms of giving ourselves the best chance to progress to the next round.

"As a group we have spoken about our common goal of qualifying for the World Cup and all the players have been working overtime in the past few months to make that goal a reality."

The Futsalroos have been drawn in Group C for the AFC Futsal Championship 2012 and will play Qatar at the Al-Shabab Stadium on 25 May, followed by Korea Republic the next day with the final group match against IR Iran at the Al Wasl Stadium on 27 May.

The Futsalroos will prepare for the AFC Futsal Championship 2012 with two international friendly matches against Thailand on 18 and 20 May in Suphaburi, Thailand before travelling to the UAE.

The top four teams from the AFC Futsal Championship will qualify for FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand 2012, which will be held from 1-18 November.

Futsalroos squad for AFC Futsal Championship 2012 UAE is:
Jarrod Basger (NSW)
Fernando De Moraes (VIC)
Daniel Fogarty (NSW)
Gregory Giovenali (NSW)
Andres Gomez (NSW)
Renagi Ingram (QLD)
Simon Keith (NSW)
Dean Lockhart (NSW)
Danny Ngaluafe (QLD)
Gavin O'Brien (gk) (NSW)
Tobias Seeto (NSW)
Peter Spathis (gk) (NSW)
Lachlan Wright (NSW)
Christopher Zeballos (NSW)

An Asian Football Confederation (AFC) spokesman said Conca, who became one of the world's best paid players when he joined the Chinese club, was being probed over the incident at last month's match with Kashiwa Reysol.

"The case is currently under investigation for potential violation by the player of the rules and regulations of the competition," a spokesman told AFP.

The China Daily newspaper said Conca had ignored a match official who told him children were not allowed onto the field of play when he kissed and cradled his two-month-old son, Benjamin, in front of the Guangzhou crowd.

It means further woe for the Argentine midfielder, who was substituted during the 3-1 loss and then lashed out at the decision on his microblogging account, earning a nine-match ban and a US$159,000 fine.

In January, Conca was also fined $24,000 for returning late to training after a holiday.

Boosted by foreign imports, Guangzhou has dominated Chinese football but its AFC Champions League bid is in the balance before next week's final group game against Buriram United, whom it will now face without Conca.

The Japan match will be played at the National Stadium as world champion Japan finalises its 2012 Olympic Games preparations.

The Matildas, reigning Asian Cup champions, failed to qualify for the London Games.

"I can't wait to get back out playing again for the Matildas," 2011 AFC Young Player of the Year, Caitlin Foord said.

"Japan are such an amazing team, it will be a real test for us and it will be great to play the World Champions in Tokyo.

The Matildas will take on New Zealand’s Football Ferns at WIN Stadium in Wollongong on 24 and 27 June.

"I scored my first international goal on debut against New Zealand last year so I'm looking forward to playing them again and hopefully getting another one," Foord said.

Matildas coach Sermanni will use two vastly different teams for the trio of games with a host of the teams bigger names playing abroad.

Kyah Simon and Tameka Butt (both Boston Breakers), Lisa De Vanna (Linköping FC), Aivi Luik and Michelle Heyman (both Brøndby IF), Sally Shipard (Bayer Leverkusen), Emily van Egmond (Western New York Flash), Servet Uzunlar (Pali Blues) and Collette McCallum and Laura Alleway (Lincoln Ladies) won't be used for the games against New Zealand.

"With a huge number of our girls playing overseas the matches against New Zealand will give a lot of the younger girls a chance to play as well as see the return of Kate Gill who is in full training now following her knee injury," Sermanni said.

"The W-League this year again produced some excellent players and it will be very interesting to see who pushes their way into selection for the New Zealand matches.

"The team that will travel to Japan will be vastly different and will come in from their respective teams internationally along with some of the locally based girls."

Al Wasl needed a win to remain in contention for one of four spots for United Arab Emirates clubs. The loss comes days after Maradona confirmed he would remain as coach for next season after complaining he lacked the players to compete.

Al Wasl controlled the first-half play but it was Al Wahda which made the most of its chances.

Midfielder Salem Saleh sent a cross to Brazilian striker Hugo Henrique who headed the first goal in the 39th minute.

After Al Wasl missed several chances in the second half, Al Wahda substitute striker Saeed al-Kathiri doubled the lead in stoppage time.

Anelka, player-coach of Shenhua, previously expressed hopes that the 34-year-old forward could join him in a lucrative move to Shanghai.

Anelka confirmed he had spoken to Drogba and the Ivory Coast international had reached a decision over his future.

"Even if Drogba finally chooses to stay with Chelsea, that can only prove Drogba himself wanted to stay and Chelsea also wanted to keep him," Anelka said, as quoted by Shanghai internet portal www.online.sh.cn.

"If Drogba cannot come to Shanghai, then there are no regrets because the world still has many other fine players," said Anelka, 33, according to a transcript of a news conference.

The former French international joined the Chinese Super League side in January and was named player-coach shortly before Shenhua sacked French head coach Jean Tigana last month, after a poor start to the season.

The Gunners broke with tradition in 2011 when they headed to Asia instead of Wenger's long-preferred option of a secluded training camp in Austria and low-key warm-up games before completing preparations for the new campaign at the Emirates Cup.

This summer during July Arsenal will visit Malaysia, China - where it will play Manchester City at the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing - and Hong Kong, then travel off again to Nigeria in early August.

While Wenger admits it is not perhaps the best preparation for his squad, many of whom will have been at Euro 2012, the Arsenal manager can understand the need for the change in philosophy.

Speaking at a press conference flanked by Arsenal's chief commercial officer Tom Fox and sponsor Emirates' divisional senior vice president corporate communications Boutros Boutros, Wenger said: "We have had to compromise on the sporting side, because we had a rational, methodical approach to our pre-season.

"We have sacrificed some of that to go on tour.

"But we are in a race with the other clubs as well. I realised when I was at the World Cup in South Africa how popular a club like Arsenal is in Africa, especially in Nigeria. It is unbelievable.

"I was even frightened at some stage by how popular Arsenal is. In Kenya as well, it is absolutely unbelievable."

The Arsenal manager added: "A tour has advantages and disadvantages, let's be honest.

"The advantage, of course, is to get in touch with your fan base in Asia - when you travel out there you realise how big the Premier League is and how big your club is over there.

"We are looking forward to doing it again, but unfortunately in the European Championship years or the World Cup years, on the purely sports side you suffer a bit more because your players have just come back and have to travel again, so the preparation time will be short for them.

"But on purely fanbase it is very exciting."

Fox, meanwhile, insisted the club's commercial team was acutely aware of the impact of its business strategy on the team.

"We do not take these decisions lightly at all," the American said.

"We understand from a training perspective it is not ideal, and the pressure we feel that when we do something as disruptive as taking Arsene's preparation on the road, we need to make sure we get the most out of that.

"We feel that responsibility acutely within this club.

"We are not just flying people around because we think there may be opportunities.

"We have tried to be very purposeful about it because we completely understand it is a very disruptive thing to do.

"So we are going to do everything we can to make sure we get everything we can from these visits and games."

Last month the Argentine football legend declared in the local media: "I recently received a promise from Al Wasl directors to strengthen the club with new quality players.

"This promise must be kept, if not I will leave and return to my country, Argentina."

But a club statement on Thursday confirmed Maradona would see out his contract which runs until the end of next season.

Al Wasl added that Maradona's "outburst had not been in the interests of the club".

The goal came 23 minutes into the first half on Tuesday when Hideaki Kitajima sent a cross that Brazilian midfielder Leandro Domingues netted in the right corner.

Buriram, which defeated Kashiwa 3-2 in the Group H opener at home, fired the first shot on goal in the fifth minute, with defender Theeratorn Boonmatan hitting a left-footer, forcing Kashiwa goalkeeper Koji Inada to punch clear.

But Kashiwa soon started to control the game with Domingues and Brazilian forward Ricardo Lobo missing the target several times before the team took the lead.

Buriram suffered a setback when defender Yves Ekwalla Herman of Cameroon was sent off with his second yellow card of the day after stepping on Akimi Barada's right foot in the 41st minute.

The Thai team had a golden chance nine minutes after the break when another Cameroon forward Franck Ohandza had a one-on-one duel in front of goal but defender Tatsuya Masushima narrowly managed to clear.

Kashiwa improved its record to two wins, one draw and two defeats for seven points, sending Buriram to the bottom of the group.

Lee's late heroics stunned Chinese champion Guangzhou Evergrande 3-1, while Kashiwa Reysol's 1-0 win over Buriram United gave all four Group H teams a chance of reaching the last 16 in its final pool games later this month.

Elsewhere Central Coast Mariners clobbered China's Tianjin Teda 5-1 to resurrect its campaign, while Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma and Nagoya Grampus played out a 1-1 draw to leave Group G also undecided.

Jeonbuk's win in Guangzhou was sweet revenge for last year's runner-up, which was humiliated 5-1 at home by the Chinese team and lost by the same score to Kashiwa, but which is now top of Group H after three wins in a row.

Guangzhou's record signing Dario Conca, reportedly one of the world's best paid players, put the host ahead with an early penalty before Lee Seung-Hyun levelled just before half-time.

And 2006 champion Jeonbuk, fresh from clinching the K-League title, then shrugged off the dismissal of defender Cho Sung-Hwan, as Lee Dong-Gook netted in injury-time and swiftly followed it up with a penalty.

There were more fireworks in the group as J-League champion Kashiwa Reysol downed Thailand's Buriram United 1-0, leaving all four clubs separated by just three points with one round to play.

Kashiwa's goal came after 23 minutes when Hideaki Kitajima dribbled through to the left of the goal mouth before sending in a cross that Brazilian midfielder Leandro Domingues netted in the right corner.

The hopes of Buriram, which had surprisingly topped the group for much of the campaign, took a dive when defender Yves Ekwalla Herman of Cameroon was sent off shortly before half-time for a second yellow card.

Jeonbuk, now two points clear on nine points, hosts Kashiwa and Buriram, which has dropped to the bottom of the table, entertains Guangzhou in the crunch final group games on May 15.

In Group G Japan's Nagoya had a second-half own goal from Seongnam's Park Jin-Po to thank as it kept pace with the 2010 winner with a 1-1 draw away from home. Han Sung-wun had put the host ahead on 12 minutes.

The final group games will be played on May 15 and 16 with the two-legged round of 16 starting a week later and concluding on May 30.

A win against Bunyodkor at Hindmarsh Stadium will send United into the tournament's group of 16, most likely top of its group.

Galekovic said his side has added motivation of a possible home match in the knockout stage if it can overcome the Uzbekistan outfit.

Adelaide leads its group by three points from Bunyodkor and Korea's Pohang Steelers with two games remaining.

"The confidence has built up nicely," Galekovic said.

"We have got a few good results and that has given us a lot of confidence.

"We have put ourselves in a position where, if we win, we'll most likely get a group-of-16 game at home, so that is our aim - win the game and top spot."

Adelaide appears likely to use its key attacking weapon Dario Vidosic for a starting assault in his return from a hamstring strain, assistant coach Luciano Trani said.

"He has shown signs that he's good enough to be part of the game," Trani said of the No.10.

"Being on the front foot is probably a good indicator of where we want start the game."

While a draw against Bunyodkor, which Adelaide downed 2-1 in Tashkent six weeks ago, might secure Adelaide's progression, Trani said there was no doubt of his side's aim.

"Go for the win," he said.

"We have got a home game here and we want to take advantage of it.

"A win will confirm our top two but, more importantly, it might give us the top spot and a home second round, which is a huge advantage."

Striker Sergio van Dijk is likely to start on the bench. He and Vidosic will give Adelaide added firepower as it seeks to make amends for its A-League flop, when it won just five games and finished second bottom.

Galekovic agreed the Asian tournament was offering Adelaide swift redemption for its dismal domestic season.

"Yeah, all the boys see it like that," he said.

"We were disappointed, frustrated during the season.

"And this makes up for a little bit - a bit of success in the season always helps."

Adelaide's final group match is away to Japan's Gamba Osaka on 16 May.

Gyan has helped the United Arab Emirates club to the Pro League title after joining on loan from the Black Cats for a fee of £6million ($A9.3million) in September last year.

The Ghana striker has been a key part of that success after netting 22 goals in all competitions and is reportedly keen to remain in the Middle East.

Nohra claimed in March that the club had first option to buy Gyan outright and despite outside interest believes a deal will be struck with Sunderland this summer.

"I'm very confident that he will be staying," Nohra told Sport360°. "He has indicated on a number of occasions that he would like to remain at the club.

"There is a loan agreement that we need to work out with Sunderland, but what is really important is that the player wants to be here and we would like to keep him. So now it's about working out the logistics of a transfer.

"That doesn't mean it's going to happen, but the seeds are there for us to ensure that this becomes a long-term deal."

After paying the initial £6million ($A9.3 million) to acquire Gyan's services for the season, reports have suggested Al-Ain can pay a further £3million ($A4.6 million) to complete a permanent deal.

The 26-year-old will have two years of the contract he signed when he joined the Black Cats from Rennes during the summer of 2010 remaining at the end the current season, and his future could have a major bearing on manager Martin O'Neill's transfer plans.

Gyan arrived on Wearside on the back of a series of impressive displays for his country at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa as then manager Steve Bruce invested a club record £13.1million ($A20.4 million) on him.

It took Gyan time to get used to the Barclays Premier League, but he announced his arrival in earnest with his first goal for the club at Wigan on September 11.

He managed 11 goals last season as he, Darren Bent and Danny Welbeck vied for places in the starting line-up before Bent's January departure for Aston Villa, and also scored for Ghana in a friendly against England.

Gyan was linked with a summer move to Tottenham Hotspur as Bruce renewed his interest in former target Peter Crouch and despite the manager's repeated insistence that the African was going nowhere, the noises coming out of the player's camp were not encouraging.

It nevertheless came as something of a shock when, hours before the club's home clash with Chelsea on September 10, it announced that Gyan had joined Al Ain on loan.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the club has not commented publicly about Maradona's future, said the club is "taking seriously" Maradona's threat to quit after this season.

The official said the club wants Maradona to stay but is looking at several "high profile" replacements.

Maradona, who has asked to meet club chairman Marwan bin Bayat this week, was hired in May last year on a two-year contract. But club officials said no meeting is imminent.

The Argentine great said last week Al Wasl had broken promises to provide him with half a dozen players.

He said he only received two and that, without the others, the club will be unable to compete next season.

This is not the first time Maradona has threatened to cut short his contract over a lack of quality players.

He also warned the club he would quit in February over a restrictive player budget, though a meeting with Bin Bayat seemed to put the issue to rest.

Bin Bayat said the issue would be dealt with after the season, which ends in late May.

But with the club floundering in seventh place in the UAE league and with no chance of winning any silverware, Maradona had the look of a man who was looking beyond Al Wasl.

He told reporters how he would be "sad" to leave Dubai but that he couldn't accept remaining with a club that didn't allow him to challenge for the title.

Maradona said he has received no other offers and, if he leaves, might take time off and care for his grandson Benjamin - whose name is tattooed on his right forearm.

"I will be ready to leave if I cannot get the players I want," he said last week.

"If I can't compete, there is no reason to continue. If the players are too expensive or the club has a budget, maybe then my leaving the club will be easier on them.

"They will be able to keep the funds for the players and then invest it in something else they require."

Unlike his exploits on the pitch, the 1986 World Cup winner's track record as a coach has been relatively unimpressive.

He coached Argentina to the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals in South Africa but was fired after the tournament and was linked to several clubs before accepting the Al Wasl offer.

Before taking over as coach of Argentina in 2008, he had coached only Deportivo Mandiyu in 1994 and Racing Club in 1995. In both cases, he left before his contract was up.

His surprising hiring by Al Wasl raised hopes the club would compete for the league title for the first time since 2007.

Instead, it has struggled, with Maradona blaming the poor performance on everything but his coaching.

First, it was bad refereeing and then the federation's decision to ban the team from playing several home matches due to fan trouble. Now, the line-up isn't good enough.

The club has plenty of money. With Sheik Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum - a brother of the Dubai ruler - as its president, Al Wasl is considered one of the richest clubs in Dubai.

It has several foreign players in its squad, including Uruguayan striker Juan Olivera and Iranian midfielder Mohammed Reza Khalatberi.

Gyan, who left English Premier League club Sunderland last year, has led the UAE club to the league title.

He is the league's leading scorer with 17 in 15 games.

Gyan is on a season-long loan from Sunderland but Carlo Nohra says he expects to sign Gyan on a permanent deal when the loan agreement ends.

Gyan has told the club he would like to stay and the club is keen to keep him as it returns to the Asian Champions League next year.

Details of Gyan's loan deal have not been published.

The striker opened the scoring after eight minutes, adding another in the 22nd to maintain Al-Ain's 100% record at home this season.

The result gives the side an unassailable 10-point lead over Al-Shabab with three matches remaining.

Dubai SC climbed out of the relegation zone with a 3-0 victory over basement side Sharjah.

Goals from Abou Camara (19), Hassan Mohammed (38) and Ahmed Abbas (90) earned the home side only its third win of the season, and lifts it above Al-Emirates on goal difference.

Sharjah are now four points adrift at the foot of the table.

Al-Ahly Dubai won 1-0 over Ajman, courtesy of Ahmed Ebrahim's 56th-minute strike.

Speculation has been rife over Tigana's position for several weeks and confirmation he had left came via a statement on the club's official website.

Former DR Congo boss Jean-Florent Ikwange Ibenge has taken over on a caretaker basis while former Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka and one-time England goalkeeper Ian Walker are part of a five-man coaching team.

Tigana took over in December but leaves with the club 10th in the 16-team league.

A bomb went off at a Lahore railway station on Tuesday, killing three people and wounding more than 20 others, prompting Bangladeshi champion Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi to pull out of the event.

However officials from the Asian Football Confederation said Group A of the President's Cup - an event for club teams from lower-ranked Asian nations - is 'still on in Lahore' from 8-12 May.

The AFC officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk on the subject.

Mongolia's Erchim Football Club and Taiwan Power Company will compete in Group A with Pakistan champion KRL.

The club will meet a select squad of Malaysian League players on 30 July at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur, promoter ProEvents claims in a press release.

City will go to Kuala Lumpur after playing EPL rival Arsenal in Beijing on 27 July, the press release continued.

"This visit is hugely exciting for Manchester City," the club's interim chief executive officer John MacBeath was quoted in the release.

"It is clear that there is significant appetite for the Premier League in Malaysia, and we are very excited to (be) taking our talented squad there to put on a sporting spectacle for our fans in Southeast Asia," he added.

ProEvents said it expected fans from Malaysia, as well as neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand, to throng the 87,000-capacity stadium.

Malaysia has hosted several top English Premier League clubs in recent years as they have increasingly courted Asia, keen to nurture a fan base and to help attract sponsors.

Earlier this month, Arsenal announced it would hold an open training session in Kuala Lumpur on 23 July and a match against Malaysian League players the next night.

The Gunners then travel to China to play Manchester City in Beijing, followed by a match in Hong Kong against local side Kitchee on 29 July.

Arsenal already visited Malaysia and China last year. Other top European clubs who went to the region included Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United.

Maradona, who took up the Al Wasl job in May on a two-year contract, said he has no other offers but believes the club has broken promises to provide him with half-a-dozen players of his choosing.

As a result, the team hasn't won any silverware and is likely to miss out on an Asian Champions League spot next season.

"I will meet Mr Marwan (bin Beyat) and the Al Wasl management in the coming days and decide if we can continue to work together," Maradona said.

"I will look at whether Al Wasl can fulfil some of my requirements. If they are unable to do so, I will leave the city with mutual agreement that satisfies both parties and I will definitely come back to Dubai as a tourist."

This is not the first time the Argentine football great has threatened to cut short his contract over a lack of qualified players.

He also threatened to quit in February over a restrictive player budget but a meeting with Bin Beyat seemed to put the issue to rest.

But with the club floundering in sixth place in the UAE pro league, Maradona appears to have resigned himself to an early departure.

He told reporters how he would be 'sad' to leave Dubai but that he couldn't accept remaining with a club that didn't allow him to challenge for the title.

Should he quit, Maradona said he might spend his time helping care for his grandson Benjamin - whose name is tattooed on his right forearm - rather than take another coaching job.

"I will be ready to leave if I cannot get the players I want," he said.

"If I can't compete, there is no reason to continue.

"If the players are too expensive or the club lacks of budget, maybe then my leaving the club will be easier on them. They will be able to keep the funds for the players and then invest it in something else they require."

Maradona coached Argentina to the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals in South Africa. He was fired after the World Cup and was linked to several clubs before accepting the Al Wasl offer.

His surprising hiring by Al Wasl raised hopes the club would compete for the league title.

But that hasn't happened and, as the team struggles, Maradona has blamed the performances on everything from bad refereeing to a ban on the club playing several home matches due to crowd trouble.

Now, it's the lack of top-level players.

The sports club is chaired by Sheik Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, a brother of the Dubai ruler. Al Wasl is considered to be one of the richest clubs in Dubai but hasn't won anything since 2007.

It has several foreign players in their squad, including Uruguayan striker Juan Olivera and Iranian midfielder Mohammad Reza Khalatbari.

In front of 38,720 strong crowd, the Neill pounced to divert a Subait Khater effort home in just the fifth minute.

The underdog took the game to the reigning champion and equalised after the break through Nawaf Mubarak.

However, UAE giant Al Jazira proved too strong with former AC Milan striker Ricardo Oliveira scoring with a deflected free kick before Ahmed Ali Mubarak made sure of the win with a calm run and finish late on.

By sealing a first Olympic berth, Senegal will join fellow African countries Gabon, Morocco and Egypt in Tuesday's group draw at Wembley Stadium.

Goals by Ibrahima Balde and Abdoulaye Sane earned the victory for Senegal at Coventry's Ricoh Arena, one of six grounds that will host the men's and women's tournaments from 25 July to 11 August.

Oman, coached by former France midfielder Paul Le Guen, earned a final opportunity to reach the games after finishing above Syria and Uzbekistan in Asian qualifying.

Brazil, Spain, Britain and Mexico have been chosen as the seeded teams for the men's tournament draw that will separate the European teams and the countries from Latin America.

The 62-year-old Qatari is fighting allegations that he tried to buy FIFA delegates' votes while campaigning to unseat the world governing body's long-standing president Sepp Blatter in a leadership election last year.

During a two-day hearing this week, the CAS listened to lawyers and witnesses for both parties.

The Lausanne-based sports court said a final decision would be announced at the end of June.

"The panel will now start its deliberations and prepare the Arbitral Award which should be issued by the end of June 2012," a CAS statement read.

"In the meantime, the CAS will not comment any further on this matter."

Bin Hammam was represented at the hearing by a team of lawyers headed by Eugene Gulland of the United States and Stephan Netzel of Switzerland.

Another Swiss lawyer, Antonio Rigozzi, is representing FIFA's case.

The hearing is being closely watched in Kuala Lumpur where the Asian Football Confederation - of which bin Hammam is president - has been under interim stewardship for almost a year.

If bin Hammam wins his appeal, acting AFC president Zhang Jilong will step aside and the wealthy Qatari businessman will resume his leadership of the regional body, it is understood.

If he loses, bin Hammam's football career is effectively over and the AFC would face leadership elections at an emergency congress or at its next scheduled gathering in May 2013.

Aji Santoso received the suspension after he was sent to the stands during a 10-0 loss to Bahrain in February for claiming money was influencing the outcome of the match refereed by Lebanese referee Andre Al Haddad.

The coach of the Indonesian under-23 team was acting as caretaker coach of the senior side when in the 75th minute of the Bahrain match he was overheard by an official saying: "There is money (involved) here."

Bahrain needed to beat Indonesia by a nine-goal margin to have any hope of reaching the next round of qualifiers.

Following the match FIFA launched its own investigation into the result as well as suspending and imposing a fine on Santoso for his behaviour.

On Thursday Bob Hippy, of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), said: "FIFA's sanctions are one-sided. We'll wait for them to announce the results of the full investigation and will appeal if we find the suspension is not fair.

Santoso told AFP he fully accepted the suspension "in good spirit".

"I respect FIFA's decision. I take it as a lesson to better manage my emotions on the field," he said, adding that PSSI would pay the Rp 60 million ($A6100) fine.

PSSI has been in hot water with FIFA and the Asian Football Federation in recent years over poor management, corruption allegations and leadership tussles.

FIFA has given PSSI a June 15 deadline to reconcile two competing top-tier football leagues that have split the nation's best clubs and seen star players kicked out of the national team.

The Indonesian Football Association and Santoso said on Wednesday they accepted the punishments but didn't rule out an appeal. Santoso, now coaching the national Under-23 side, was fined $6,530.

Santoso was red-carded by Lebanese referee Andre Al Haddad in the 75th minute of February's match in Manama after allegations he accused Al Haddad of being bribed.

FIFA said Santoso told the officials '(there is) money involved (here)'.

In the second minute, Al Haddad sent off Indonesia's goalkeeper and awarded four penalties to Bahrain, which needed to make up a nine-goal deficit on Qatar to have a chance of advancing to the next round. However, Qatar drew 2-2 with Iran, and those two advanced.

FIFA called the outcome 'unusual' and launched an investigation.

Indonesia was warned by FIFA before the match to send its strongest team, but an inexperienced team was selected after Indonesia suspended players from clubs in the breakaway Indonesian Super League.

Edi Ellison, the spokesman for the Indonesian association, said it will wait to decide on an appeal after the result of FIFA's probe.

Because of the loss to Bahrain and the breakaway league, the government was planning to cut funding to the association.

Ulsan's captain and Korea Republic international Kwak Tae Hwi delivered the knockout blow, converting from the penalty spot in the 72nd minute after Brisbane defender Sayed Adnan brought down Kang Minsoo with a slight challenge.

Replays showed the penalty call may have been harsh as Adnan had nicked the ball before Kang went down.

Opinions were divided on the penalty call but Brisbane had enough opportunities to win.

It bombarded Kim Seung Gyu's goal in the final 10 minutes but the gun Ulsan 'keeper was up to the task as both Henrique and Erik Paartalu came close to scoring.

It was Brisbane's second loss at home and leaves it bottom of Group F equal on points with Beijing Guoan, with just two games to play.

With the clash locked at 1-1 at half-time there was no shortage of feeling and niggle in the second-half.

Star striker Besart Berisha was hit with a yellow card by Iranian referee Torki Mohsen for dissent before the second-half even started.

Ulsan struck early when nimble-footed Colombian Jaun Veleze propped and dispossessed Mitch Nichols before driving a left-foot blast past Roar 'keeper Michael Theoklitos in the 11th minute.

The error unsettled Nichols who was guilty of several mistakes in the opening half as he tried to redeem himself before being replaced in the 75th minute.

The equaliser for Roar came in lucky fashion as Shane Stefanutto's cross deflected off an Ulsan defender and into his own net in the 25th minute.

The sheer pace of Velez, Lee Ho and Luis Carlos Martins caused Brisbane's defence some serious problems as the K-League side pushed the ball forward early at every opportunity.

Brisbane had a great chance to grab a 2-1 lead in the 35th minute but Paartalu didn't have the polish to finish with his stabbed shot sailing over the bar.

Theoklitos later said Brisbane was disappointed not to come away with any points.

Asked about the 72nd minute penalty he said: "the referee made some soft calls".

"We just had to get on with it but it's pretty disappointing."

Roar coach Ange Postecoglou, who can now focus on Sunday's A-League grand final against Perth Glory, said his side was punished for not finishing off.

"We had some opportunities we didn't take advantage of," he said.

The hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, will be closely watched in Kuala Lumpur where the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has been under interim stewardship for almost a year.

Bin Hammam, 62, is fighting allegations that he tried to buy FIFA delegates' votes while campaigning to unseat the world body's long-standing president, Sepp Blatter, in a leadership election last year.

Bin Hammam says the cash handouts were merely gifts, and he describes the charges and his punishment by FIFA as politically-motivated.

The scandal earned him a life ban from football and was followed by the resignation of FIFA's controversial vice president and Caribbean football chief Jack Warner. A host of other officials were punished over the bribery claims.

The revelations also refocused attention on Qatar's successful bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, in which Bin Hammam played a key role, and sparked calls for reform of FIFA's governance structure.

If Bin Hammam wins his appeal, acting AFC president Zhang Jilong will step aside and the wealthy Qatari businessman will resume his leadership of the regional body, AFP understands.

He will also want to return to FIFA's executive committee, a move that would inevitably cause tensions between the world body and its biggest confederation.

If he loses, Bin Hammam's football career is effectively over -- and the AFC would face leadership elections either at an emergency congress or at its next scheduled gathering in May 2013.

Interim chief Zhang has not revealed whether he would stand, and no other candidates have declared their interest.

"A sense of togetherness and unity of purpose has never been more important in Asian football," Zhang told AFC's executive committee last month.

"2012 will be very challenging for me, and you, but I promise you that as the acting president, I will go by the AFC statutes."

Bin Hammam was seen as a moderniser of Asian football after overseeing the launch of the AFC Champions League and the admission of Australia into the regional body. But he also raised hackles with his leadership style.

The affable Zhang, China's former football boss and considered a safe pair of hands, has stressed his current role is only temporary and has not outlined clear policies.

In an interview with AFP last year, he said his priorities were to "maintain stability, enhance unity, promote development, hand in hand together to manage the difficulties".

Other potential leadership candidates are not known but Malaysia's Prince Abdullah Ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah and UAE's Yousuf Yaqoob Yousuf Al Serkal are both AFC vice presidents.

The body's executive committee also includes Japan's Kohzo Tashima and Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, a FIFA vice president.

One important supporter of Zhang's could be Blatter, who delivered a ringing endorsement of his leadership in front of AFC delegates at the body's awards night in November.

"FIFA trusts you - we trust the new leadership of the Asian Football Confederation. And a special mention to the acting president, Mr Zhang Jilong and his team - they do a great job," Blatter told the ceremony.

Bin Hammam's appeal will be heard on Wednesday and Thursday but the result is not expected to be released until later this month.

The Reds host the Koreans at Hindmarsh Stadium with the clubs level on six points at the top of their ACL group.

A win would all but ensure Adelaide advances into the second round, given the other two clubs in Group E - Japan's Gamba Osaka and Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor - each has only three points.

"It's a massive game," Galekovic said on Tuesday.

"Whoever wins is going to be that one step closer to qualifying."

Pohang downed Adelaide 1-0 a fortnight ago in Korea Republic, with an uncharacteristic Galekovic fumble gifting the Steelers the winner.

"It's time to make amends tomorrow night and I have got a chance to do that," he said.

Galekovic said the Reds were impressed by the Steelers in their last clash but also learnt valuable information about the K-League powerhouse.

"When they don't have the ball, they press in the right areas and they press very well as a team," he said.

"And when they have the ball, it's very hard to get the ball back off them.

"They're very good technically and all their players have very good passing ranges.

"They're a good team - we respect them.

"We know how they might come out and play - but that is the same the other way as well - they know how we play.

"It's a bit of cat and mouse, but we will be ready for them."

United lost playmaker Dario Vidosic to a hamstring injury with 21-year-old Evan Kostopoulos to slot into the crucial creative attacking role against the Steelers.

But Galekovic hoped predicted temperatures nearing 30 degrees would favour the home side.

"Obviously they're coming from temperatures of 10 degrees to 30 degrees, so it's going to be a big step for them and they might tire a little bit earlier," he said.

"If they do press, then we know they will run out of steam.

"They have only just started their (domestic) league and, in these conditions, it will be tough on them."

The Roar lie bottom of its group, but will take heart from a 1-1 draw away to its South Korean opponent just two weeks ago, where they played most of the second half with 10 men.

Postecoglou believes his side can overturn the continental form book, despite also having Sunday's A-League grand final against Perth Glory to contend with.

"We've certainly shown our intent to win every game we play and Ulsan are a good side," Postecoglou said.

"They've started the K-League really well, they're right up there. All the teams in our group have started their seasons really well and we're chugging along all right ourselves so it's a pretty even group."

In the other Group F clash, table-toppers FC Tokyo will host Chinese side Beijing Guoan.

On the same day, Group B side Al Arabi will aim for its first win when they meet Pakhtakor at home, with Baniyas playing host to leaders Al Ittihad.

Group D sees toppers Piroozi Athletic lock horns with Qatari side Al Gharafa, with Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal taking on middle-eastern neighbours Al Shabab Al Arabi.

Buriram United will look to take further control of Group H when they visit Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, as Guangzhou Evergrande host Japanese outfit Kashiwa Reysol.

Adelaide United will be forced into a change for its trip to Pohang Steelers on Wednesday, as influential midfielder Dario Vidosic has failed to recover from an injury picked up during the teams' previous clash.

United are equal on points with the Steelers in Group E, and despite the best efforts of coach John Kosmina, the midfielder is certain to miss out with youngster Evan Kostopoulos expected to take Vidosic's place in the starting 11.

Bunyodkor welcome Gamba Osaka to Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent in the other Group E clash, with the home side desperate to bounce back from a 3-1 defeat in Japan.

Central Coast Mariners coach Graham Arnold insists winning the ACL is of more importance than domestic trophies, ahead of Wednesday's Group G away encounter against Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma.

The Mariners missed out on the A-League grand final after defeat to Perth but, with three draws in as many ACL games, it is confident of progressing to the last 16.

Arnold said: "Because having to go to South Korea is obviously very difficult and again, I'm a traditionalist. For me it's more important to get into the last 16 of the ACL than win a grand final. Our focus now is to get to the last 16 of the ACL."

Group G's other match sees Japan's Nagoya Grampus host Tianjin Teda.

Meanwhile, Group A leaders Al Jazira will aim to make it four wins out of four when they face Iran's Esteghlal, while Uzbek club Nasaf will aim for its first win as they host Al Rayyan.

Finally, Group C's only unbeaten side Fooland Sepahan travel to Qatari outfit Lekhwiya, with Al Ahli taking on Saudi Arabia's Al Nasr.

Confusion still surrounds Anelka's exact position with the club, with the future of manager Jean Tigana unclear.

It was reported that Tigana had either been sacked or resigned from the post, but the Frenchman has denied all such stories.

Regardless of Anelka`s job title, Shenhua, who has long been linked with Drogba, whose Chelsea contract expires this summer, will hope he can convince his old strike partner to sign a lucrative deal in the Far East.

Anelka also wants to recruit former Paris St Germain team-mate Selim Benachour, currently with Maritimo.

"I hope Selim Benachour and Didier Drogba will quickly join us," Anelka told Le Journal du Dimanche.

"I hope they come. It is up to the club to see if we have the right means."

Anelka admitted his surprise at being appointed to the coaching staff, but insisted he had no qualms about taking over from Tigana.

"I don't know what happened with the coach, but it looked like an impasse," he added.

"As usual I will take on and try to seize the challenge, which is the greatest of my career. We start almost from scratch again.

"Florent Ibenge will take the daily training sessions. To assist us there will be Alioune Toure and Ian Walker for the keepers."

Anelka revealed he had a "very English coaching philosophy".

"I have been impressed by Carlo Ancelotti, Kevin Keegan, Arsene Wenger, Guus Hiddink, Christoph Daum and Sam Allardyce," he said.

"I have also looked at Alex Ferguson and Harry Redknapp. I have a very English coaching philosophy."

The 32-year-old midfield general is seeking a fresh start as he hopes to follow close friend and fellow Socceroos star at two World Cup campaigns, Mark Bresciano, back into the green and gold.

Though linked with a return to Italy last month, Grella's representative Anthony Crea told The World Game he is far more likely to follow Bresciano to the Persian Gulf, where Grella's former club mate at Carlton, Empoli and Parma stars for Al Nasr in the UAE Pro-League.

Japan, Korea or even China are also likely options for Grella whose Blackburn Rovers contract expires at the end of June.

Rubbed out of Australia's 2010 World Cup campaign in South Africa with injury after the opening game loss to Germany and in national team limbo ever since, Grella is coming off a frustrating four seasons at Ewood Park.

"I see Asia or the Middle East as good options for Vinnie," Crea said. "There has been some interest from a few parties and we'll see where it leads.

"He needs a fresh start and needs to go somewhere and enjoy his football again. He's still very passionate about the game. He's just returned to fitness in the past few weeks and still feels he has a lot to offer at both club level and also for his country.

"He's a hard-nosed professional and is still talking about returning for the Socceroos. He's adamant that once fit and playing regular club football again he'll knock on the door of the national team again.

"The reason he was reluctant to put his hand up after 2010 was to concentrate on his fitness and getting his body right.

"He felt that he wouldn't be doing himself, or the team, any favours if he was trying to push himself forward when not 100 percent fit.

"I believe he's now put all these injuries behind him and will get a chance to be involved again during the qualifying campaign for Brazil."

Grella took inspiration from the sparkling performance of Bresciano in Australia's 4-2 World Cup qualifying win over Saudi Arabia in February as he returned from an 18-month national team absence with panache and a renewed sense of purpose.

"Vinnie was really happy for 'Bresch' and of course the thought of playing alongside him again for Australia is an added incentive," added Crea.

Blackburn is three points from safety at the foot of the Premier league with just four games left to secure its survival having crashed 3-0 against Swansea City at the weekend.

Crea said bad luck played a part in a run of injuries which never allowed the classy and combative Grella to make the impact his undoubted talent promised after joining Rovers from Torino back in 2008.

"He's just had a really bad trot and couldn't get things right and to his credit he's always stayed positive," added Crea.

"He's kept himself in very good shape physically and is always the consummate professional."

The on-loan Sunderland striker opened the scoring after 36 minutes but Diego Maradona's Al Wasl levelled through Mohammed Reza Khalatberi after 65 minutes.

Two minutes later Juan Olivera put Al Wasl on course for victory when he bagged its second, but Gyan secured a point for the visitor when he fired home from the penalty spot after 85 minutes.

The point moves Al Ain eight points clear at the summit while Al Wasl is sixth.

Ajman is fifth after a Boris Kabi-inspired 3-1 win at third-bottom Al-Emirates.

Alexander Oliviera opened the scoring for the victor after 32 minutes before Kabi struck in the 48th and 70th minutes to secure the points. Diakoba Diara claimed Al-Emirates' consolation after 71 minutes.

Al Wahda is up to seventh after winning 2-1 at bottom side Sharjah. Goals by Amer Omar (73) and Saeed Al-Kathiri (86) secured all the points before Anderson Marcelao pulled one back for Sharjah.

Goals from Ali Mabkhout after 47 minutes and Ricardo Oliveira (76) secured an eighth home win from nine for Al Jazira, which trails leader Al Ain by seven points and has now played a game more.

Australia captain Lucas Neill plays for Al Jazira.

Al Nasr moved level on points with third-placed Al Shabab thanks to a 2-2 draw at Bani Yas.

Ahmed Ali put the host team ahead (32) put Leo Lima drew Al Nasr level 10 minutes into the second half. Bani Yas almost instantly restored its lead through Andre Senghor but Al Nasr rescued a point with Ali Salem's 90th-minute effort.

Al Ahly Dubai beat Dubai SC 5-2, with Grafite scoring a hat-trick.

He was on target in the 18th, 34th and 90th minutes with Youssouf Mohamad (eight) and Luis Jimenez (24) Al Ahly's other scorers.

Dubai is now three points adrift of safety, with its goals coming from Hassan Rahman (29, pen) and Hassan Mohammed (38).

It needed to win and hope that the two teams three points above it at the start of the day - Al Arabi and Qatar SC - did not draw their encounter, but instead a brace by Julio Cesar (26 and 76) consigned Umm Salal to a fourth straight Stars League defeat.

In the event, the match between Al Arabi and Qatar SC did finish goalless as the regular season in Qatar drew to a close.

Al Jeish, the winner of League 2 last season, ended the season in second thanks to a 6-1 victory away to Al Wakra, its fifth victory in a row.

Adriano and Ribeiro scored a hat-trick apiece for Al Jeish, with the former scoring in the fifth, 49th and 51st minutes and the latter matching him in the 13th, 79th and 90th to confirm its place in the AFC Champions League.

Anwar Al Deeba scored Al Wakra's 69th-minute consolation.

Champions Lekhwiya ended their campaign with a 3-1 defeat at Al Rayyan, who secured third place.

Lekhwiya led through Hussein Hussein's 20th-minute goal but the hosts hit back in the second period through Hamid Ismael (62) and two goals within a minute from Afonso Alves and Rodrigo Tabata (82), with the latter coming via a penalty, sealed it.

Bottom side Al Ahly ended the campaign with just three wins to their name, slipping to a 16th defeat from 22 games with a 2-1 loss at Al Khrityat.

A brace from Yahia Kiepi (28 and 39) put the hosts in control and though Alain Kaluyituka Dioko pulled one back for Al Ahly after 65 minutes, they could not find an equaliser.

In the day's other game, Al Gharafa were 3-1 winners at home to Al Sadd. Diego Tardelli put the hosts ahead in the 19th minute and a brace by Muayed Hassan either side of half-time (33 and 47) proved enough, with Nasser Nabeel scoring Al Sadd's only goal.

The club will once again face a Malaysian XI at the the Bukit Jalil Stadium on Tuesday, 24 July, on what will be the first leg of its Asia tour.

The Gunners will also travel to China to play against Manchester City in Beijing on Friday, 27 July, and visit Hong Kong for a match against Kitchee FC two days later.

Al Eqtisadia, a daily newspaper, reports that members of the Shura council said Rijkaard's salary would be better spent on youth programs.

They complained that his salary was equivalent to that of 10 ministers and that his performance so far didn't justify it.

The former Barcelona coach signed a three-year deal last year worth $14.15 million and was expected to turn around a team that failed to advance past the group stages in the 2011 Asian Cup.

Instead, the side won just one of six World Cup qualifiers.

The pair will miss the side's AFC Cup clash against Arbil SC, who won last week's first leg tie in India 2-0.

"Trevor James Morgan, who has coached Kingfisher East Bengal FC since July 2010, has refused to come with his team," Arbil FC spokesman Ribin Ramzi told AFP.

"We offered him guarantees concerning his security but he continued to refuse, stating he was following the advice of his country."

Travel advisories issued by the British and Australian governments stated that Morgan and Ozbey could go to Iraq at their own risk.

East Bengal's assistant coach Ranjan Chowdhury will stand in for Morgan.

The AFC Cup is a tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation for clubs from developing countries in Asia.

Peter Taylor, who managed England as caretaker in 2000, blamed the lopsided result in February on Indonesia playing an inexperienced side.

He said no one from FIFA had contacted him and felt there was no point in discussing the match with football's world governing body.

"We did nothing wrong. There is no need for us to speak to FIFA," said Taylor, who was hired to coach Bahrain in July.

"At the end of the day, the game was played and we did as well as we possibly could and played the strongest team we could."

Taylor criticised Indonesia for sending a team made up mostly of reserves and whose most experienced player, a goalkeeper, had only been capped 12 times.

"That shouldn't be done," he said.

"To respect the competition, they should send their strongest team. Just because they couldn't qualify, it doesn't mean they should send their reserve team," he said.

"Bahrain can't do anything about that. All we can do is turn up and try and win a match. We should have won by more than 10. We missed two penalties."

FIFA said it plans to interview match referees, coaching staff and players during a probe of what it called an "unusual" match.

In the match, referee Andre El Haddad sent off Indonesia's goalkeeper in the second minute and awarded Bahrain four penalties.

Bahrain's win raised suspicion because it went into the game trailing Qatar by three points and nine goals in group standings.

But, Qatar drew 2-2 with Iran in its final qualifying match to advance.

FIFA had written to Indonesian officials ahead of the match reminding them that World Cup rules require teams to field their strongest lineup.

Indonesia was expected to select an inexperienced team after suspending players from clubs in the breakaway Indonesian Super League.

It had lost all five previous group matches, conceding 16 goals while scoring just three.

The Asian Football Confederation has defended its member countries against any suspicions of match-fixing.

It issued a statement last week expressing confidence that the match was conducted properly, and that Bahrain was "tactically and technically" better.

Bahrain came into the 2014 World Cup qualifiers with high hopes, having just missed out on qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

But its campaign was beset by injuries, coaching changes and anti-government demonstrations that paralysed the country and resulted in several top players being jailed and excluded from the team.

Bahrain finished the campaign with a record of two wins, three draws and one loss - a 6-0 drubbing by Iran. Taylor acknowledged the team "blew it in World Cup qualifying" but said he felt it had improved since his arrival.

"My plans are to stick with the team. I think we have made tremendous progress," he said. "We have a young team and we have done very well."

Taylor refused to discuss the status of several former players - including standouts Alaa and Mohammed Hubail - who were punished for taking part in the protests. At the mention of the protests, Taylor said "Don't go there. You are getting boring."

Al Shabab remained two points clear at the summit with a 3-0 win at home to already-relegated Al-Ansar courtesy of a first-half hat-trick from Nasser Al-Shamrani.

Al-Ahly was an even more convincing winner, 5-1 at Al-Raed, to improve its goal difference advantage over its rival.

Suliman Al-Eisa put the visitor in front in the fourth minute and Taisser Al-Jassam scored either side of half-time to make it 3-0.

Yves Ilunga pulled one back, but Victor Simoes scored twice late on to put Al-Ahly out of sight.

Al Shabab's win ended the faint title hopes of third-placed Al Hilal, despite its 2-0 win at Najran.

Mohammad Al-Shalhoub and Adil Hermach scored the goals either side of the interval.

Al-Faysali won 2-1 at Al-Ittifaq, Bader Al Kharashi and Leon Benko putting it two up before Abraheem Al-Magnem's consolation.

Jehad Al Zwaid scored in the 81st minute to cancel out Uche Agba's first-half penalty and earn Hajer a 1-1 draw at Al-Qadissiyyah.

Al-Nasr drew 1-1 at Al-Ittihad as Wagner's penalty cancelled out Fabrice Ondama's opener for the host.

Al-Fateh and Al-Tawon drew 0-0.

Al Gharafa took the spoils with goals from Farhad Majidi (17) and Diego Tardelli (81) either side of an an equaliser from Magno Alves (27) as second-bottom Umm Salal slumped to a third successive loss.

That result allowed third-bottom Al Khrityat to open up a two-point gap over Umm Salal and the relegation play-off zone heading into the final round of matches after it held Lekhwiya 1-1.

Jaycee John put Al Khrityat ahead in the 39th minute before two-time reigning champion Lekhwiya levelled things up six minutes into the second half.

In the day's other match, second-placed Al Jeish beat Al Arabi 1-0 thanks to a 57th-minute goal from Adriano.

Bill Ng, the chairman of Hougang United, told journalists he is leading a Singapore-based consortium that hopes to be the winning bid for the Glasgow giant.

Administrators have received four bids for the venerable 140-year-old club including one fronted by former Rangers director Paul Murray and from groups based in Singapore, Germany and the United States.

The administrators said they would consider three of the four bids submitted.

"The weakness lies in the people who run the club and I feel that we can do something better," Ng was quoted as saying by the New Paper.

Neither Ng nor staff at his Singapore club were available to confirm the bid when calls were made to Hougang United.

The New Paper said Ng's group submitted a bid of around 20 million pounds ($31.4 million) for Rangers and the bulk of the money would be used for paying off its creditors.

The bid by Ng's Singapore-based consortium marks the second time investors from the wealthy city-state have attempted to buy a British football club.

Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim in 2010 attempted unsuccessfully to buy English football club Liverpool for an equivalent of $498.17 million.

Al Khodair Turky gave the home side the lead after 32 minutes, but that was cancelled out by Hussain Al Mogahwi in the 63rd minute.

Al-Ansar dug deep, though, and Abdul Al-Shangiti produced the winner 12 minutes from time.

It was only its third victory of the season, although it is seven points adrift at the foot of the table.

The A-League champion stuck to its attacking instincts throughout despite having central defender Matt Jurmann sent off just after half-time in an incident which turned the entertaining Group F tie on its head.

A scintillating 36th-minute goal to young striker Nick Fitzgerald had given Roar a richly-deserved 1-0 lead at the break after enjoying the better of an action-packed first-half.

But Jurmann was red-carded after losing possession and his feet on the slippery surface in the box before compounding his mistake by grabbing at Kim Seung-Yong as the midfielder sized up goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos.

Theoklitos heroically saved the ensuing penalty by Lee Keun-Ho but it wasn't long after before Ulsan equalised through Lee Jae-Seong after Roar was too lax in clearing a harmless corner off its line.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Brisbane remained positive and continued to play out from the back and attack bravely in the open encounter.

Roar - who must back up on Sunday in the second leg of their A-League major semi-final against Central Coast Mariners at Gosford - actually had the better of the second-half chances and finished the moral victor.

German talisman Thomas Broich again showed his class and was responsible for turning defence into a golden chance for Mitch Nichols who stumbled as he only had keeper Kim Seung-Gyu to beat in the 68th minute.

Watched on by former team-mates Matt McKay and Luke DeVere, both now based in South Korea, Roar produced a bright start in the chilly conditions.

Midfield workhorse Massimo Murdocca was found unmarked in the box twice in the opening eight minutes but was unable to make the most of the chances.

While the visitor continued to threaten, the Tigers did produce a couple of scares with a header from captain Kwak Tae-Hwi hitting the crossbar and Shane Stefanutto stopping a blazing Julian Estiven Velez shot with a last-ditch header off the line.

Left-back Stefanutto was one of the Brisbane's best and almost set up a match-winner to Besart Berisha through an instinctive intercept only for the Albanian's shot to be blocked.

Roar now has two points from three matches in the ACL but remains in the hunt to progress to the knockout stages at the halfway mark of group play.

Brisbane Roar: 1. Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2. Matt SMITH (c), 3. Shane STEFANUTTO, 4. Matthew JURMAN, 5. Ivan FRANJIC, 6. Erik PAARTALU, 7. Besart BERISHA, 8. Massimo MURDOCCA (18. Luke BRATTAN 66'), 17. Mitch NICHOLS (14. Rocky VISCONTE 87'), 22. Thomas BROICH, 24. Nick FITZGERALD (19. Jack HINGERT 51').
Substitutes not used: 9. Kofi DANNING, 12. Matthew MUNDY, 20. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 25. George LAMBADARIDIS.

Park told the China Daily that Asian teams still had a way to go before they could triumph in football's most prestigious tournament, but said they were improving quickly.

"There is a gap between us and the world-class level, so we still have to improve," he said.

"But in the past few years, the quality of Asian football has gotten better and we have proved we can deal with world-class teams.

"So, if Asian teams work hard and continue to develop, one day they will have success at the World Cup... not now but maybe in 10 years time an Asian country will win the World Cup."

Asia's best performance yet in the World Cup was in 2002, when Korea Republic - playing as co-host with Park in the side - reached the semi-finals.

The next World Cup will be held in 2014 in Brazil, followed by Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.

The club described Maradona's actions as "what any honourable person would do" after the former Argentina captain and coach stormed into the stands during the 2-0 defeat at Al Shabab.

Maradona left the touchline after noticing the altercation in the VIP area before he had to be restrained by several police in a match shown live on UAE television.

Maradona, 51, later labelled the fans on Gulf News as "cowards" before his Dubai-based club issued an apology.

"The management of Al Wasl Football Company denounce the harassment suffered by the family and guests of Diego Armando Maradona, head coach of Al Wasl Football Club in Al Shabab's stadium during the last match of the professional league," a statement on the club's website, www.alwaslsc.ae, read.

"A few irresponsible fans verbally abused Maradona's wife and his guests during the match."

Al Wasl's acting chief executive officer Abdullah Al-Bishr also backed Maradona's "understandable" actions in the same statement.

"Al Wasl Football Company finds Maradona's behaviour understandable, when he went into the stands to protect his wife and guests; it is what any honourable person would do," he said.

"We offer our sincere apologies to Maradona for what took place on behalf of the few who offended UAE culture by their actions.

"This is a society, which by its very nature, does not insult women by cursing and harassing, but is brought up to treat them with respect."

Katongo, the captain of the Zambia team which won the African Nations Cup earlier this year, cancelled out Rafa Jorda's opener for the home side after 69 minutes.

He then netted the winner with seven minutes to go as Henan claimed its first victory from its opening four games.

Henan remain bottom, however, while Guizhou is seventh.

World football's governing body imposed the ban last year due to security issues and organisational concerns when Iraq hosted Jordan in a World Cup qualifier in Arbil on 2 September.

The Socceroos have been drawn in the same group as Iraq for the final stage of Asian qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and are scheduled to face it away from home on 16 October.

The match is scheduled to be played at a neutral venue, nominated by Iraq, but officials say they will attempt to convince FIFA later this month it should be allowed to host its qualifiers.

"We are seeking to convince FIFA to lift the ban on our national team playing in our stadium, and will present FIFA officials with (evidence that) will prove we are able to host games ... according to the rules of FIFA," said Abdel Khaleq Massoud, vice-president of the Iraqi Football Association (IFA).

IFA President Najeh Hmoud is to head a delegation to meet FIFA chief Sepp Blatter in Zurich on 13 April to discuss issues related to the future of Iraqi football, Massoud said.

He added that the delegation would propose that Iraq be permitted to host friendly matches in Baghdad while the ban on official matches remains in place.

FIFA barred Iraq from hosting matches after a 2 September match in Arbil due to the poor administration and organisation surrounding it.

In particular, the match was delayed for 10 minutes because of a power cut, and the stadium appeared to have significantly more spectators than its capacity of 12,400.

Arbil is the capital of the autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan, which is widely seen as much safer than the rest of the country.

The war in Iraq forced 'home' games to be played outside the nation from 2003 but Iraq resumed playing on home soil in 2009 before the latest ban was imposed.

The Socceroos faced Iraq in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup but their away clash in 2008 was played in Dubai.

FIFA had previously given the Indonesian football federation (PSSI) until 20 May to clear up a damaging wrangle that has led to Indonesia's best teams split into two leagues.

Football's world governing body announced a new 15 June deadline after a meeting on Friday, calling for the PSSI to resolve 'the issues at stake, notably the control of the breakaway league'.

"Of course, we are relieved FIFA has given us this extra time. We will put in every effort to engage Super Liga and try and convince them to play under the PSSI," federation official Rudolf Yesayas told AFP.

"But we need Super Liga to talk to us. We invited all the clubs to a meeting this week but no one even replied."

The PSSI has been in hot water with FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation in recent years over a spate of cases, including a leadership tussle and corruption allegations.

The latest crisis emerged when the unofficial Super Liga kicked off to rival the PSSI-recognised Liga Prima.

In February, Indonesia suffered another blow when the national team was thrashed 10-0 by Bahrain in a World Cup qualifier.

Indonesia fielded a weak team because FIFA banned players in the unofficial Super Liga from representing their country.

FIFA launched an investigation into the match, in which Bahrain needed to win by a nine-goal margin to have any hope of making the next round of qualifiers.

Ali Al-Wehaibi put the host ahead in the 26th minute before two goals by former Sunderland striker Gyan (54, 84) saw Al-Ain move nine points clear of Al-Shabab.

Ajman is fifth after a 3-0 win over Dubai SC. Olivier Tia scored twice (12, 58) with Boris Kabi rounding off the goals eight minutes from time.

Al Wahda moved further away from the lower reaches of the table with a 3-1 over Al-Ahly Dubai.

Hugo opened the scoring on the half-hour mark with Ismail Matar doubling the lead a minute after the break. Hugo added gloss in the last minute.

The league said Incheon United would be fined five million won ($4250) and ordered to play a home game at a neutral venue.

Daejeon Citizen will have to pay 10 million won ($8500), with its fans banned from two future fixtures.

The fines come after two Citizen fans jumped onto the pitch and beat up United's mascot, which resembles a crane bird, after United beat Citizen 2-1 during a game at the Incheon ground.

A fist fight broke out between rival supporters in the stands while some fans let off fireworks.

The two men who beat up the mascot were banned from attending all domestic games at Daejeon.

Citizen fans accused the mascot of gesticulating in an offensive manner in front of them but United denied this.

"What the mascot did was a common routine in every match," a United official told the Korea Times.

United, in a statement on their official website, promised to build higher guardrails in front of seating if violence breaks out again.

Some fans urged United to build metal fences around the pitch. But the club coach Huh Jung-Moo said a change in the mindset of fans is more important.

Cho Chan-ho scored the winner in the 30th minute to earn Pohang its second win in five games this season.

Busan I'park scored a minute from time to win 1-0 at Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma to pick up its first victory of the campaign.

Kim Chang-soo's goal settled the game.

The Argentine legend had just seen his Al Wasl team lose 2-0 to Al Shabab in the UAE league when players' wives and girlfriends had to be escorted out of the Al Mamzar stadium.

The trouble started, according to Gulf News, when Ciel, a Brazilian striker who had scored one of the goals, was targeted by Argentine supporters amongst Maradona's entourage.

Al Shabab fans then unleashed insults in the opposite direction with Maradona's partner Veronica Ojeda and the girlfriend of Al Wasl player Juan Mercier caught up in the melee.

As wives and girlfriends were escorted to their cars, Mercier's girlfriend tripped and fell down the stairs.

"Some people are cowards. They only attack women and have no courage to confront men," Maradona told www.gulfnews.com.

"This is the first time I am upset with the fans. If they are angry with me they should know that I did it (climbed the stands) for my wife because someone was calling her names.

"They shouldn't be angry with me they should be angry with the people who did this. They are cowards, not real fans."

Second-placed Al-Ahly went down 1-0 at home to Al-Ittihad, Naif Hazazi with the goal in the 34th minute.

Al Hilal, in third, moved to within four points of top spot with a 5-0 win at Al-Fateh.

Youssef El Arabi opened the scoring in the 15th minute and second-half goals from Christian Wilhelmsson, El Arabi again, Salem Al Dawsari and Essa Al-Mehyani completed the rout.

Abuse of Terengganu's Francis Forkey Doe, 26, began in the warm-up of Tuesday's Malaysia Cup quarter-final second leg against Singapore's Lions XII and was also directed at a dark-skinned linesman, according to witnesses.

"There was a group of maybe seven or eight fans at the opposite end of the grandstand who were making racial slurs ... orang hitam (black man) and even nigger also came out," undergraduate Muhammad Nadjad Bin Abdul Rahim, 24, told AFP.

"The rest of the crowd would cheer these guys and some joined in," he added.

Racist jeers were also heard when the linesman awarded a throw-in for Terengganu in an incident involving Doe.

"A guy made a comment 'sama (same) colour' and there was a big cheer," Muhammad said.

Doe, who had incurred the wrath of Singapore fans over an incident in which Hariss Harun was sent off in the first leg, made the rude gesture to fans during the warm-up, the witness added.

"They kept calling me 'monkey' and 'black' and I didn't appreciate that ... why call me those names? Because I'm black? Because I'm African?" the player told Singapore's The New Paper.

"Football is a game, a friendly game. You can't say things like that. It's not right."

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said it had not been informed of the incident, but stated that it took a strong stance against racism.

"We have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of racism and have always stressed that there is no place for racial discrimination in our society," a spokesperson from FAS said.

Race cases have hit the headlines in football recently with former England captain John Terry facing charges of alleged racial abuse. In Italy, Lazio and Juventus were both fined this week for racist chanting by their fans.

Terangganu reached the Malaysia Cup semi-finals 1-0 on aggregate.

Luis Jiminez (26) and Grafite (39) had put the home side in charge before goals from Luca Toni (53) and Ali Al Amri (75) levelled the score.

Grafite's second after 85 minutes put Al-Ahly back in front but Saeed ensured the visitor took a share of the spoils with his late finish.

Jociel Ciel scored the only goal after 27 minutes as Al-Shabab won at Bani Yas to move into third in the table.

The game between Dubai SC and Al Wahda finished in a goalless draw.

Gyan opened the scoring with a penalty after eight minutes and Al Qahtani netted the second after 59.

Rashid Ali pulled a goal back six minutes later before Al Qahtani (68) and Gyan (90) wrapped it up for Al-Ain.

Second-placed Al-Jazira won 1-0 at home to Ajman as Jader Bari scored the only goal after 61 minutes.

Rashid Esa scored twice and there were also goals from Danda, with a penalty, and Manuel Oliveira in Al-Wasl's 4-1 win over Al-Emirates whose goal came from a Diakoba Diara penalty.

Knowing a win would reduce the gap between it and Al Khrityat by half, it got off to a horror start with Younis Mahmood scoring twice inside 17 minutes - one from the spot.

Al Ahly hit back, though, through Abdullah Mustafa and Adel Ahmed, only to lose it to Adil Raheema's goal in the final minute.

The day's other games both ended goalless, with Al Sadd and Al Rayyan and Al Khor and Qatar SC both holding each other.

D Venkatesh, a 27-year-old midfielder for Bangalore Mars, went on as substitute in the 73rd minute.

He collapsed toward the end of the Bangalore District Football Association A Division match against the South Western Railway club.

Media reported that there was no ambulance available and Venkatesh was taken to the Hosmat Hospital in a three-wheel auto-rickshaw.

Preliminary post-mortem reports suggested cardiac arrest was the cause of death.

The Times of India newspaper quoted Dr. Ajith Benedict Royan of Hosmat Hospital as saying there were no external injuries and attributing the cause to "Sudden Death Syndrome."

"Maybe if he had been given oxygen or proper medical care at the time of the incident, he could have stood a chance," the newspaper quoted Royan as saying.

The incident came only days after Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba collapsed during an English FA Cup match against Tottenham after suffering from cardiac arrest.

He was taken to London Chest Hospital and remains in intensive care.

The All India Football Federation issued a statement confirming Venkatesh, a former junior state-level representative, had collapsed near the end of the match.

"The AIFF prays for his departed soul," the statement said.

The Dream Asia Cerebral Palsy Tournament UAE 2012 will see the Pararoos line up against Iran, Jordan, Korea, Singapore and UAE compete in friendly matches over six days at the Military Forces Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The participating teams have been invited based on regional representation from AFC's five regions and the Cerebral Palsy International Sport and Recreation Association’s (CPISRA) world ranking.

“Obviously it was very disappointing for us not to qualify for the 2012 London Paralympic Games, but this tournament will provide us with the ideal opportunity to start our preparations for the next campaign," Brown said.

“This is a younger squad than we have had in the past with four players set to make their international debuts. This was a deliberate decision to try and add more depth to our national team for the future."

The Dream Asia Cerebral Palsy Tournament is a new initiative by the AFC and its Member Associations and aims to encourage local communities to come out and play the beautiful game irrespective of their levels of abilities.

David Barber (Captain) - QLD
Chris Pyne (Vice Captain) - NSW
Ben Atkins - NSW
Chris Barty - WA
Michael Debenham - WA
Jared Eiby - QLD
Brett Fairhall - NSW
Ryan Kinner - SA
Connor Marsh - NSW
Joshua Seaman - SA
James Turner - NSW
Jack Williams - NSW

The Mariners have every right to feel it was two points lost rather than a point gained as they pushed the 2010 J-League champion all the way in their Group G clash at Bluetongue Stadium.

Nagai Kensuke did little to endear himself to the crowd in the opening minute when he crashed to the turf with no Mariners' defender around him.

It was a strange sort of opening as both sides struggled to get a rhythm due to the stop-start nature of the match.

Mustafa Amini and Tomas Rogic looked threatening early in what was quickly turning into a battle of the midfield.

Nagoya's Australia striker Josh Kennedy, starved of good service, earned a early yellow card after an altercation with Zwaanswijk.

Nagoya was awarded a contentious free-kick in the 21st minute when Tamada Keiji hit the turf after minimal contact.

The home side's frustration was compounded when Markus Tulio Tanka was able to stub the resulting set-piece home for the opening goal.

The Mariners response came swiftly seven minutes later through the head of Zwaanswijk, the veteran defender positioning himself perfectly to finish a delightful cross from Tomas Rogic.

Troy Hearfield had the chance to double the lead when he burst through on Nagoya's goalkeeper Narazaki Seigo, but the shot-stopper stood his ground pulling off a fine save.

Another contentious free-kick gave the visitor excellent field position, before Mariners gloveman Matthew Ryan pulled off a fine save to deny Abe Shohei, ensuring scores would remain level at the break.

Determined to get a positive result, the Mariners came out firing in the early stages of the second-half.

John Hutchinson and Rogic both threatened before Australia U23 representative Oliver Bozanic had a stinging shot well saved in the 65th minute.

Ryan had some nervous moments when Nagoya was able to pounce on a loose pass, but he recovered well to clean up and keep the scoreline level.

Football's top governing body had asked Indonesia's football association (PSSI) to resolve problems triggered by the unofficial elite league, the Super Liga, which has split the country's best clubs.

It had asked PSSI to resolve the issue by 20 March, in order to avoid sanctions, which may include banning Indonesia from international football.

The Indonesian association's legal team submitted the report 'on our plans to fix the football situation in Indonesia' on Monday, PSSI's special staff to the secretary general Rudolf Yesayas told AFP.

"We hope FIFA will be able to look at it in a comprehensive manner, consider our efforts and hopefully we can escape sanctions," Yesayas said.

"It's hard to say if we are confident or not about avoiding sanctions. The situation is unpredictable," he added.

He said FIFA committee members would meet on 26 March, adding: "Let's just wait and see if Indonesian football will be discussed."

Yesayas said that the report outlined proposals which include merging the leagues or formally recognising the Super Liga, but on condition it would be under PSSI's control.

"We also told FIFA that PSSI as an organisation is problem-free and there is a rival group which wants to crush the current leadership," he said.

He was referring to a group of officials from the breakaway league which on Sunday held an extraordinary meeting to get PSSI chairman Djohar Arifin Husin replaced.

"This illegal group, which is using the official PSSI's attributes like our logos, must be banished," he added.

The PSSI has been mired in corruption scandals and leadership battles for years.

Last month it suffered another blow when the national team was thrashed 10-0 by Bahrain in an Asian zone 2014 World Cup qualifier.

FIFA launched an investigation into the match, in which Bahrain needed to win by a nine-goal margin to have any hope of making the next round of qualifiers.

"We have let FIFA handle the matter and we don't know yet the progress of FIFA's investigations. But as far as PSSI is concerned, there's no match-fixing," he said.

Indonesia had fielded a weak team as FIFA disallows members from unofficial leagues from competing in international matches, forcing the PSSI to omit Super Liga players.

In a repeat of the 2010 final in Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan was found wanting from the penalty spot, blasting over in the 81st minute only to see its more clinical opponent put away its own spot-kick to take a late lead.

"After conceding the first goal we still had enough time and we were dominating the game. I hoped our players would just do their best and score," Korea DPR coach Yun Jong-Su said.

"I wasn't nervous about our penalty - I was confident we would score."

Turkmenistan had got off to a dream start with striker Berdy Shamuradov slotting past Ri Myong-Guk after just two minutes, the first time the Korea DPR goalkeeper had conceded in the biennial tournament for Asia's emerging nations.

In a frenetic opening, favourite Korea DPR could have hit back twice after being denied a penalty shout which could have gone either way and then hitting just wide from a free-kick 20 metres out moments later.

Korea DPR piled on the pressure and was rewarded when hitman Jong Il-Gwan leapt to head a lofted cross low inside the post, to the delight of Kathmandu's Dashrath stadium, which holds 22,000 but looked half full.

Midfielder Pak Nam-Chol could have taken his team into the break in the lead after he was released just before half time for a one-on-one with Turkmen keeper Rahmanberdi Alyhanov.

But the 19-year-old fluffed his lines, pulling the trigger too early and blasting just over the bar.

Korea DPR continued in the same vein after the restart, narrowly missing out on a number of scoring opportunities as Turkmenistan spent large parts of the second period camped in its own half.

Turkmenistan continued to look dangerous on the break, however, stretching its opponent at every set-piece and hitting the bar with a stunning free-kick from the edge of the area by Turkmen player of the year Arslanmyrat Amanov.

The ever-industrious Amanov was tripped in the box on 81 minutes but captain Shamarudov blasted the penalty high over the bar and Korea DPR won its own penalty for a foul in the box straight from the goal kick.

This time there was no mistake as substitute Jang Song-Hyok dispatched the ball low into the left-hand corner.

It was a repeat of Turkmenistan's heartbreak in Sri Lanka two years ago when it lost to Korea DPR in a penalty shoot-out after the teams were deadlocked at 1-1 after extra-time.

"Today just wasn't our lucky day but this is football. Even famous players miss penalties. I have some questions about the second penalty and I'll need to see a DVD to look at it again," said Turkmenistan coach Yazguly Hojageldiyev.

Korea DPR is now assured a place at the 2015 edition of the Asian Cup, the region's blue riband football tournament, in Australia.

Despite early media reports that the former Bayern Munich player had been 'critically injured', Iranian state TV said that the player only suffered a head injury but had no fractures.

He was pictured speaking from his hospital bed in the city of Isfahan where he had been attending a match in his capacity as coach of Iranian club Rah Ahan.

A statement from the Asian Football Confederation read: "The AFC wishes Iranian legend Ali Daei, who was involved in a car accident on Saturday, a speedy and full recovery.

"We stand ready to assist Daei, who is a true icon of Asian football. Our thoughts and prayers are with him."

The 42-year-old Daei is credited with being the world's top goal scorer in international matches. He scored 109 goals in 149 international games.

Majed Naser, who has also played for the United Arab Emirates national team, was slapped with a 17-match ban by the UAE's Football Association which would have left him on the sidelines for the rest of this season and parts of the 2012-2013 season.

The Emirati keeper slapped Al Alhi coach Quique Sanches Flores on the back of the head after his club's 1-0 defeat, later contending he was provoked by Flores during the match.

Nasser, in a statement sent to AP on Sunday, apologised for his action but said the ban was excessive.

"I admit that my actions were inappropriate and wrong and that I lost control of my nerves but my reaction was due to the provocative gesture made by Al Ahli coach toward me during the match," Nasser's statement read.

"I accept the disciplinary committee's decision but at the same time I personally think that the decision exceeded expectations and was exaggerated and harsh and is enough to end my football career," he said.

"I don't want to be a burden on my club and get in their way of success and development. I have only seen good things from Al Wasl and they have always supported me in every step I took. They should not pay the price of my suspension."

Maradona, who called Naser's action unacceptable, has said Al Wasl plans to appeal the ban but so far the club has not challenged it.

The club confirmed Naser's retirement on Sunday and said in a statement that it hoped he would reconsider.

"Al Wasl Football Club's management is surprised from Majed Nasser's recent comment about his decision to retire from football but at the same time the management understand his frustration and the feelings he is going through following the 17-match ban that he received," the club's statement read.

"Al Wasl Football Club's management confirm that they will do all that is possible to convince Majed Nasser to retract his retirement decision.

"Majed Nasser is a valuable national asset not just to Al Wasl but also to UAE football as a whole."

Issam Erraki scored the only goal of the game in the 29th minute.

The win moved Al-Raed up to ninth, while Al-Qadissiyyah remained second bottom.

Taran netted in injury-time to steal victory after Zaynitdin Tadjiyev (42) cancelled out Batyr Kadyrkulov's fifth-minute opener.

Metallurg Bekabad was held 1-1 at home to Andijan. Zohid Abdullaev grabbed a point on 56 minutes after Khikmat Khashimov had put through his own goal just before the break.

Navbakhor Namangan and Qyzylqum Zarafshan played out a goalless draw.

Fadel Omar scored twice and Sebastian Soria was also on the scoresheet as the visitor stormed into a seemingly decisive 3-0 lead with 46 minutes gone.

However, Mamadou Niang pulled one back from the penalty spot on 49 minutes and made it 3-2 soon after, while Khalfan Ibrahim grabbed the equaliser three minutes from time.

Elsewhere, Al Wakra and Al Khor drew 1-1 with Formagini Madson putting the visitor in front on 59 minutes and Younis Mahmood equalising from the spot on 67 minutes for Al Wakra.

Farhad Majidi put the visitors n front with a 56th-minute penalty and Mohamed Yasser doubled the advantage three minutes later.

Diego Tardelli made it 3-0 in the 71st minute and, even though Dioko Kaluyituka pulled one back in the 78th minute, Majidi grabbed his second at the death to complete a comprehensive win for Al Gharafa, who moved up to fifth.

In the day's other game Al Khrityat and Al Arabi drew 0-0.

The Ghana star's 56th-minute spot-kick was the only goal of the game as pacesetter Al-Ain put more daylight between itself and second-placed reigning champion Al Jazira, who beat Al Wasl.

Third-placed Al-Nasr slipped further adrift of the leading pair after it suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at home to lowly Dubai SC, who recorded only its second win of the season thanks to Hassan Mohammed's 82nd-minute strike.

To add salt to Al-Nasr's wounds, it is now just a point ahead of fourth-placed Al-Shabab, who thrashed Sharjah 5-1.

Kieza and Issa Obaid both netted braces for the victor while Mahmoud Qassim added the other goal, with Sharjah's consolation coming from Sang Hoo in the 69th minute when it was already 4-0 down.

The defeat leaves Sharjah bottom of the table with Dubai SC now above it on goal difference.

First-half goals from Ali Afif and Beli Moumouni Dagano put Lekhwiya in charge, and although Umm Salal halved the deficit immediately after the interval, Dagano's second goal 11 minutes from time sealed the victory.

Lekhwiya now boasts an 11-point lead over second-placed Al Rayyan, which saw its four-match winning streak ended by a 3-2 defeat at third-placed Al Jeish.

Al Rayyan scored first and last through goals from Afonso Alves (13) and Barbosa Rodrigo Tabata (80), but host side Al Jeish netted three times in between through Abdulkader Elias (13), an Adriano Martins penalty (34) and Anderson Martinez (58) to take the win.

After a month without a league game, Ricardo Oliviera's 85th-minute strike condemned Al-Wasl to a defeat that drops them to sixth in the standings.

Ajman moved above them on goal difference thanks to a 3-1 home win over Al Wahda.

Olivier Tia (15) and Waleed Ahmed (53) gave the host side a two-goal cushion and while Hugo made it 2-1 with a 66th-minute penalty, Hassan Matouq made the game safe from the spot five minutes later.

Bani Yas won 2-0 at Al-Emirates after goals from Ibrahim Saeed (9) and Andre Senghor (86).

The club announced the decision to sack Metsu on its official website, with the club seventh in the Qatar Stars League. He will be succeeded by former Brazil midfielder Paulo Silas, who was sacked by Al Arabi in January.

Metsu steered Senegal to the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup, a run which included a win over holders France in the opening game of the tournament.

He had previously served as coach of the Qatar national side between 2008 and 2011.

A largely new-look squad was unable to prevent Australia from finishing bottom of Group B with just four points from its six matches.

With six new faces in the starting side determined to prove they belonged in a national shirt, there was a sense of urgency by the Olyroos.

Iraq's Amjed Kalaf Mansoor couldn't capitalise on an early half-chance, and from there Australia had the better chances.

But the match quickly descended into an end-to-end affair as both sides fought to assert their authority in midfield.

Australian pair Chris Harold and Kofi Danning were the beneficiaries of some accurate passes from Mustafa Amini, but were unable to break down a committed Iraqi defence.

Danning had the best chance of the half to give Australia a decisive lead after 22 minutes, but the marksman elected to push a pass when pulling the trigger himself appeared the better option.

Dimitri Petratos was proving a handful for the Iraqi defenders with some bustling runs, while captain Ben Kantarovski strengthened the midfield with a composed performance.

Australian goalkeeper Mark Birighitti made an important late save to ensure scores would remain level at half-time.

Australia lifted the intensity noticeably after the break, but it was Iraq's Ammar Abdulhussein Ahmed who went within inches of opening the scoring in the 67th minute when he dragged his shot just wide.

A slick passing movement released striker Chris Harold shortly in the 87th minute but Iraqi goalkeeper Saqr Ajail Salih narrowed the angle and the shot went wide.

Harold had one final chance to break the deadlock deep in stoppage time but his powerful header was deflected out for a corner.

The Gunners will take on Hong Kong champion Kitchee FC at the Hong Kong Stadium on Sunday, July 29.

The squad will travel to Hong Kong from China, where it will play Manchester City in Beijing two days earlier.

Chief executive Ivan Gazidis said: "It's great that Arsenal Football Club is visiting Hong Kong again after 17 years.

"We have many followers in Hong Kong and it's wonderful that these special fans will have an opportunity to see the first team live in action.

"The match will follow on from our visit to Beijing, where we play Manchester City in the Bird's Nest, and is another indication of Arsenal's commitment to Asia."

Football Federation Australia CEO Ben Buckley, Socceroos coach Holger Osieck and Queensland Sport Minister Phil Reeves made the announcement on Wednesday at the venue.

“The Qantas Socceroos v Japan at Suncorp Stadium will be an absolutely epic contest on the road to Brazil,” FFA CEO Ben Buckley said.

”This will be a very early test for Qantas Socceroos against the Asian champions and the outcome will shape the group, but we all know our players thrive on these challenges.”

Osieck was equally enthusiastic about the encounter in the Queensland capital.

“Brisbane is an excellent venue and provides us a great atmosphere and environment for the next phase of our campaign,” Osieck said.

“We have very good memories from the start of our last stage of qualifiers and we hope to duplicate that result on 12 June.

“I’m expecting a sell-out crowd to see two of the top nations in Asia compete for a place at the FIFA World Cup."

Australia is drawn in Group B with Japan, Iraq, Jordan and Oman, which it faces in its opening qualifier on Friday 8 June in Muscat.

The top two teams from each group will progress directly to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil with the two third placed teams from each group meeting in a play-off over two match days in September 2013 with the winner of that to face a CONMEBOL opponent for a place in the finals.

The Socceroos warm-up for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Fourth Round campaign with an international friendly against Denmark in Copenhagen on Saturday 2 June.

The 1968 bronze medallist needs just a point to guarantee an automatic berth by finishing top of Group B, but a handy goal difference means it could lose at home to Bahrain and still go through.

Syria is a strong favourite to hang on to second spot, which would put it into this month's play-offs involving the three group runners-up, as it takes on pointless Malaysia at home.

Third-placed Bahrain is level on nine points with Syria but it would need to beat Japan by a hatful of goals - two weeks after its full national side beat Indonesia 10-0, prompting a FIFA probe - to reach the play-offs.

Korea Republic went through with a game to spare after last month's win over Oman but Australia, which is still yet to score in five games, is playing only for pride when it takes on Iraq in Gosford.

"It's a bit different because we've had no preparation time at all. It'll probably be a bit hit and miss - the players will probably play on instinct and what they do naturally," said Australia coach Aurelio Vidmar.

"We'll go through a few things of what we expect of them but I know there will be mistakes, which is only normal in a situation like this," he told the Football Federation Australia website.

"But on the flip-side they're all very keen to represent their country and they'll give 100 percent."

Uzbekistan has its fate in its hands as it entertains United Arab Emirates in Tashkent, needing to win by more than one goal to supplant the Group C leader.

In Group A, Oman has a one-point advantage over third-placed Qatar as it looks to preserve its play-off spot heading into its final fixture with Saudi Arabia. Qatar takes on already-qualified Korea Republic.

Men's football is played as an under-23 tournament at the Olympics, although the rules allow for three over-age players.

The three group runners-up will play a round-robin tournament in Vietnam this month with the winner facing Senegal for a place at the Olympics.

The United Arab Emirates Football Association imposed the lengthy ban after Majed Naser slapped Al Alhi coach Quique Sanches Flores on the back of the head.

Al Wasl had already suspended Naser indefinitely. The UAE FA's disciplinary committee subsequently imposed the ban and fined Naser 30,000 dirhams ($7,750).

Al Wasl declined to comment on the ban but issued a statement condemning the attack, which in part read 'this type of behaviour not only damages the reputation of the individual but is also detrimental to the image of the club'.

FIFA gave the association (PSSI) until 20 March to resolve a string of problems triggered by the revival of an unofficial breakaway elite league, which split the country's best clubs over two competitions.

The PSSI will meet on Wednesday with clubs competing in the unofficial Super Liga to try and convince them to dissolve the competition and recognise the registered Liga Prima.

"I don't want to make any assumptions of what we're going to achieve on Wednesday, but hopefully those clubs will run along home," PSSI deputy chairman Farid Rahman told AFP.

The PSSI has been mired in corruption scandals and leadership battles for years, and suffered its latest blow last month when the national team was thrashed 10-0 by Bahrain in an Asian zone 2014 World Cup qualifier.

FIFA has launched an investigation into the match, in which Bahrain needed to win by a nine-goal margin to have any hope of making the next round of qualifiers.

Indonesia's goalkeeper was sent off two minutes into the match and Bahrain was awarded four penalty kicks.

Indonesia fielded a weak team against Bahrain as FIFA disallows members from unofficial leagues from competing in international matches, forcing the PSSI to omit Super Liga star players from the national team.

Indonesia's sports ministry is singing FIFA's tune, recently threatening to pull funding from the national team unless the elite league problem is resolved.

A number of businessmen led by oil tycoon Arifin Panigoro said they will help fund the team should the ministry follow through on its threats, the PSSI said.

The PSSI will hold an extraordinary meeting on Sunday to elect new leadership and come up with a strategy ahead of FIFA's deadline.

Officials of the breakaway Super Liga take no responsibility for the elite league problem, blaming PSSI leadership for the state of Indonesian football and the loss to Bahrain.

"The PSSI is the one responsible for the big mess. We want reform so that the big loss with Bahrain that humiliated this country won't never ever happen again," Super Liga official Syahril Taher said.

FIFA reminded the PSSI in a letter ahead of the match that Indonesia must field its 'best possible team in all matches of the competition' and 'observe the principles of fair play'.

The visitor showed no ill effects from its AFC Champions League loss at Qatar's Lekhwiya last week, taking a 33rd-minute lead through Al Hosni's 14th goal of the season.

Simoes ensured the win with two goals in two minutes at the start of the second half in the 47th and 49th minutes, before Al Hosni added his second and Al Ahli's fourth in the 74th minute.

Third-placed Al Hilal lost ground on the top two as it was held to a 1-1 draw at struggling Al Raed. Saadi Al Harthi gave Al Hilal a 36th-minute lead but Yahya Al Muslem equalised 10 minutes from time.

The Jeddah club grabbed the only goal on the stroke of half-time as Mohammed Noor scored from the spot to end a run of three straight defeats.

For the visitor, the defeat was its fourth in a row and leaves it just one place and one point above Al Tawon, which is in the relegation zone.

The home side started the day as Lekhwiya's closest challenger and looked set for a point when Khalfan Ibrahim levelled matters with 12 minutes to go after Beli Moumouni Dagano had put the visitor ahead 10 minutes into the second half.

But Lekhwiya won it when Nam Tae-hee scored from the penalty spot with eight minutes left.

Al Rayyan leapfrogged Al Sadd into second with a resounding 5-1 victory at Al Gharafa.

Although Rodrigo Tabata's opener was cancelled out by Gharafa's Mohamed Yasser, the visitor cruised thereafter with Tabata scoring again to add to a brace from Leandro and a Nathan Otavio effort.

The loss likely ends Maradona's chances of winning any silverware in his first year in the United Arab Emirates league. Al Wasl missed out on the President's Cup and is fifth in the league, 12 points adrift of leader Al Ain.

"Of course, there is nothing to celebrate," Maradona said on Sunday. "But that doesn't mean it's the end of the journey. We did what we could and Al Wasl will continue to perform for next season."

Maradona signed a two-year contract with Al Wasl in July.

Al Alhi started pressuring Al Wasl in the second half. It paid off in the 61st minute when Ismaeel al-Hamadi chipped a pass into the area for substitute Faisal Khalil to slot the ball home.

Al Wasl striker Juan Olivera could have drawn his club level but his shot from inside the area went just wide in the 82nd minute. The visitor had two more good chances in stoppage-time but couldn't convert.

The two teams clashed on the pitch minutes after the match, with Al Wasl goalkeeper Majed Naser slapping Al Alhi coach Quique Sanches Flores on the back of the head. Flores, who has coached Valencia and Atletico Madrid, said the attack was unprovoked but that he was unhurt in the incident.

Al Alhi vice-chairman Sweidan al-Naboodah later apologised on Twitter to Florez and Al Alhi fans for the incident. Naser was also suspended indefinitely by the club.

The bad blood continued into the news conferences, with Maradona accusing Florez of encouraging his players to fake injuries and fall to the pitch throughout the match.

"This is not the way football should be played. This was quite ugly," Maradona said. "This type of play is unfortunate.

"He knows the type of beautiful football that can be played when he used to coach Atletico Madrid and Valencia. The only thing he has taught his team is how to fall on the ground."

Flores seemed bemused by the allegations, though he said several of his players were injured during the match.

At least four Al Alhi players had what appeared to be cramps or injuries in the second half, resulting in six minutes of injury-time.

"If Maradona thinks the players fell to the grass, that is his problem not mine," Flores said. "Things have changed a lot in the last three months. Al Wasl beat us 4-0 (in the President's Cup) then and now we are in the final."

Al Alhi will face Al Shabab in the final on 26 May. Al Shabab beat 2011 league champion Al Jazira 4-0 in the other semi-final.