The AFC Disciplinary Committee has stripped Iranian club Sepahan of its first-leg victory over Al-Sadd in the Asian Champions League quarterfinals after it was found to have fielded an ineligible player. Sepahan won the match this month 1-0 over the Qatari club but now will travel to Doha down 3-0 after the Asian Football Confederation awarded Al-Sadd the victory. “The committee adjudged that Rahman Ahmadi of Sepahan should have served a suspension in the match after receiving two yellow cards during the group stage of the AFC Champions League 2011 when he played for Piroozi of Iran,” the AFC said in a statement. Along with stripping Sepahan of the win, the AFC fined the club $1,000 and ruled that Ahmadi will be suspended for Wednesday's return leg. Sepahan has the right to appeal within three days of notification of the decision. Meanwhile, South Korean trio Jeonbuk Motors, Seoul FC and Suwon Bluewings face an uphill battle to reach the final four of the league after poor quarterfinal first-leg performances. Jeonbuk, which trails 4-3 to competition debutant Cerezo Osaka, hosts the Japanese Tuesday still licking its wounds after squandering the lead three times in Osaka to lose the seven-goal thriller. The runaway K-League leader faces a Cerezo team bristling with confidence after thumping Montedio Yamagata 6-0 on Friday in the J-League. Cerezo, mid-table in its domestic league, is Japan's sole representative in the last eight. Jeonbuk played out a lackluster goalless draw at Jeju United over the weekend after coach Choi Kang-hee rested several key players ahead of Tuesday's clash. “Now we can think about Cerezo Osaka,” Choi said after the stalemate. “It should be a very good game and one we can win.” FC Seoul will also be hoping to draw on home inspiration Tuesday in its Herculean challenge of overhauling a 3-1 first-leg deficit against Saudi Arabia's powerful team Al-Ittihad. Montenegrin marksman Dejan Demjanovic scored a hat trick in a confidence-boosting 4-1 home win over Daejeon Citizen Sunday in the K-League and the Seoul side will need more of the same if it is to see off the Saudi visitors. Al-Ittihad beat the K-League champion comfortably in Jeddah, its goals coming from Mohammed Noor, Osama Al-Harbi and Geraldo Wendel. Jeonbuk and Seoul will set up a mouthwatering all-Korea semifinal clash if they emerge. Suwon Bluewings completes the Korean contingent but faces an equally tricky away date in Iran against last year's runner's up Zobahan. Having played out a tight 1-1 draw in Korea, Bluewings will be hoping Zobahan's uninspired recent form – it has not won since an Iran league victory last month – continues. But Zobahan holds the edge with the visitors needing to score in Wednesday's tie if they are to have any hope of progressing to the semis.
