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Sailors still afloat after AFC awards them 3-0 1st-leg win
The Straits Times
|March 09, 2025
From a near-impossible mission of clawing back a five-goal deficit, the Lion City Sailors will now have a three-goal advantage heading into the second-leg, quarter-final match against Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the Asian Champions League (ACL).
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) disciplinary and ethics committee confirmed on March 8 the J1 League side had fielded an ineligible player in their 6-1 first-leg win at the Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima stadium on March 5.
In a statement on its website, the Asian football governing body noted that Sanfrecce had fielded Valere Germain "in the match even though he was suspended".
The French forward, who came on as a substitute in the 69th minute and scored their fifth goal five minutes later, was supposed to be serving a three-match ban.
As a result, the match will be forfeited and Singapore Premier League leaders Sailors will be awarded a 3-0 victory instead. The second leg will be played at the Jalan Besar Stadium on March 12.
This story is from the March 09, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.
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