Al Ahli caretaker coach Catalin Raducan believes his side’s three-point deduction in the Arabian Gulf League will serve only to galvanise the team as they head into the second half of the season.
The decision was taken by the UAE FA’s disciplinary committee to dock Al Ahli three points for fielding a suspended player in Friday’s 3-1 win over Al Dhafra.
With Al Ahli leading 3-0, Adnan al Beloshi came on as a second half substitute despite being suspended for the game after accruing three yellow cards over the course of the season.
Despite the points penalty, Al Ahli remain top of the Arabian Gulf League, although that lead has now been halved.
While those inside the club were believed to be angered and frustrated at the oversight, Raducan claims that the team’s latest setback will only pull the players together.
“I don’t want to talk too much about this but it was a mistake, we take responsibility for it,” said the Romanian. “Maybe the players are a bit frustrated but it is not their fault, if we lose points out on the field then they can be upset.
“When they go on the field they give everything and they can lose from their own mistakes.
“Now we can only look in front. It’s not important to point fingers and find who made the mistake, we have to look ahead to show everybody how strong Al Ahli are.
“From the beginning of the season the club has had problems, we have had injuries , a FIFA case, Cosmin Olaroiu’s suspension, these things only make us stronger, more like a family and give us more power to go out in front and win the competition.
“We must think like this, it’s not easy but when you want to be number one it isn’t easy. It all depends on us, we are strong, we must show it on the field, like we have so far and then for sure we will win this league."
The points deduction is just another hurdle the club have had to overcome so far this season. Al Ahli have spent nearly two months playing away from home while their stadium was being used during the FIFA U17 World Cup as well as being the subject of financial wranglings with former employees.
To make matters worse, coach Cosmin Olaroiu – who joined in the summer from two-time champions Al Ain – was suspended for six months in December for breach of contract before the UAE FA’s decision to remove three points from their league total.
However, all these problems have failed to halt Al Ahli's march to the top of the league, something Raducan credits the players’ experience and maturity to.
“We trust our players, we know we are the best team in the league," he added. "We have been the best so far and it is important not to watch other teams. It doesn’t matter how many points ahead we are, we must win the league.
“We are lucky to have very good players, players with experience like Grafite and Luis Jimenez, our young players want to grow up and most important we work with players who want to win every game and if you have this, it is very easy to work.
"We are one big family, we handle everything together and we want one thing and we do everything for this.”
