‘Al Wasl had four Brazilians and we had one who couldn’t play’

DUBAI — Al Nasr coach Dan Petrescu is still miffed about the UAE Football Association’s decision to ban his striker Wanderley for 10 games and pointed to their Bur Dubai rivals Al Wasl, who have four Brazilians, although one is registered as an Asian player.

The UAEFA handed Wanderley a 10-match ban after he was involved in a passport row. The AFC, the governing body for Asian football, had initially banned him from playing for three months after he was found to have used a forged and falsified Indonesian passport. After serving the suspension, Al Nasr re-registered Wanderley as a Brazilian during the winter transfer window. And although the AFC approved the decision, the UAEFA said that a player cannot change his nationality midway through the season.

The AFC has a ruling which allows three foreign players and one Asian player to play for clubs in the region.

After losing to Al Wasl in the Bur Dubai Derby of the Arabian Gulf League at the Al Maktoum Stadium late on Friday night, Petrescu was still upset with the decision. “Of course we are not happy about the result and I think the difference was that they (Al Wasl) had four Brazilian players on the pitch and we have one Brazilian who couldn’t play,” said the Romanian. “Three days before a match, they say that Wanderley cannot play, is not easy mentally, for the players,” he added.

Al Wasl have Fabio de Lima, Ronaldo Mendes, Serginho and Brazilian-born East Timorese Caio Canedo. The former Chelsea ace was baffled by the decision and was still trying to work his head around such a situation.