DUBAI — Saudi side Al-Shabab beat Al-Gharafa of Qatar 2-1, while the other club Al-Ahli was held by Qatari Al-Jaish in the first leg of their last 16 AFC Champions League matches in Doha Tuesday. Nasser Al-Shamrani struck seven minutes from time as Shabab came back from a goal down to hand Gharafa defeat. Saudi international Al-Shamrani scored with a confident finish after Sebastian Tagliabue had leveled the scores for Shabab following Mark Bresciano's opener for the home side three minutes prior to the half-time interval. The two teams will meet in the second leg in Riyadh next week with the Saudi champion holding the lead as well as the advantage of two away goals. Group C winner Ahli, which lost last year's final to Ulsan Hyundai, looked tired having arrived in Doha Sunday after sealing a place in the semifinals of the King's Cup with a 3-1 win over Al-Nasr Wednesday. Ahli shot into lead at the fag end of the first half through Moatiz Al-Mosa. Jaish equalized in the 76th minute with a goal from Anderson Martins. Earlier in the day, Thailand's Buriram United made light of an acrimonious managerial shake-up as it extended its dream run in the tournament with a 2-1 win over Bunyodkor. Two headed goals earned a first-leg win for the unfancied Thai outfit and their new manager Scott Cooper, whose predecessor was sacked hours after sealing progression from the group stage following a row with the club chairman. Elsewhere, K-League champion FC Seoul was happy to escape with a 0-0 draw after finishing with 10 men in its clash against Beijing Guoan in the Chinese capital. Four more first-leg matches take place Wednesday. FIFA extends bans FIFA has extended bans for nine players found guilty of match-fixing in Lebanon to apply worldwide. A Lebanese player has been banned from all soccer-related activities for life, and eight Estonian players each received one-year suspensions. FIFA says the Estonian players received money from a bookmaker in connection with matches in the country's top division and the Estonian Cup. The Lebanese player's lifetime ban is the result of betting and corruption which FIFA says was committed by some Lebanese officials and players during national team matches and other AFC Cup games. The same Lebanese investigation has seen a range of bans imposed on 23 players and one official. — Agencies
