Saudi Arabia lost its friendly encounter against Congo 2-1 in Austria Thursday. The Portuguese coach of the Saudi national team, Jose Peseiro, played his second string players and is expected to field his main players in Friday's match against the same rival. The first half of the friendly match ended 1-0 in favor of the Congolese team. The goal came in the 9th minute. Saudi midfielder Abdul-Latif Al-Ghannam leveled the score 14 minutes into the second half. The Congolese side, however, managed to score the winning goal late in the second half. On the other hand, the Disciplinary Committee of the AFC has handed a number of Asian teams taking part in the ACL a series of punishments. Three Saudi teams; Al-Ahli, Al-Shabab and Al-Ittihad were among those punished. However, the biggest loser was Marcelo Santos, interpreter of the Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan, who has been banned for five years. According to the decision, Santos will not take part in any football event from the date of his provisional suspension, April 21, 2010, for violating Article 70 of the ACL 2010 regulations. The interpreter, who attacked security men after his team's encounter against Al-Ittihad on April 14, was also ordered to pay a fine of $20,000. Ahli, meanwhile, has been fined $1,000 for one of its player's refusal to attend the flash interview, which is considered a violation of regulations of the AFC Champions League 2010. The team has also been fined $3,000 for liability for spectators' conduct. The team's spectators threw fireworks onto the field more than once, during Ahli's ACL match against Al-Jazira of the UAE on March 23. Similarly, Al-Ittihad has been fined $3,000 for the conduct of its spectator who threw a lighter on the visiting team players during the team's ACL match against Zobahan of Iran on March 9. Shabab has been fined $5,000 for the absence of its media representative to the ACL match against Al
