Al-Hilal loses appeal against ACL defeat

ZURICH — Al-Ahli have been given the go-ahead to play the first leg of their Asian Champions League final Saturday after an attempt by its beaten semifinal opponent, Al Hilal, to have the result overturned was thrown out. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), sport's highest tribunal, said Wednesday it had dismissed the Saudi club's appeal, leaving its opponent, from the United Arab Emirates, free to host China's Guangzhou Evergrande Saturday. Al-Hilal had claimed that former Heerenveen, Liverpool and Stoke City winger Oussama Assaidi, who came on for the last 20 minutes of their semifinal second leg, was not eligible to play for Al-Ahli, who won 3-2, with a goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time, to reach the final 4-3 on aggregate. The Saudi side, which has already lost an appeal to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), had asked for a 3-0 walkover for the second leg. The CAS said it had dismissed Al-Hilal's appeal and would give the reasons for its decision at a later date.