JEDDAH, 22 December 2004 — Al-Hilal downed Al-Riyadh 2-1 and Al-Ittifaq beat Al-Ahli 3-1 as they both qualified for the final in the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Under 23 Soccer Tournament.
Two second half goals including the winner in injury time propelled Hilal past Al-Riyadh and into the final against the Eastern Province-based Ittifaq.
Ittifaq had the match well under control with three unanswered goals and by the time Ahli found the net the result was already moot and academic.
Hilal persevered despite trailing early when city rivals Riyadh scored in the 25th minute with a converted free kick from outside the penalty box by Yahya Fakihi.
The long wait for a Hilal equalizer came in the 86th minute when Brazilian import Tavares slammed in a goal off a free kick before Meshal Al-Muri received a nice cross inside the box and booted in the winner in the third minute of injury time to seal the victory.
Ittifaq swamped Ahli with goals in the 6th minute by Khaled Al-Harthi, 48th minute from an own goal by Ahli defender Hassan Yamani and 65th minute by Yousri Al-Basha. Ahli just avoided a shutout after a header by Ahli Dawi in the 66th minute.
Spanish FA Fined
The Spanish Football Federation was fined 100,000 Swiss francs ($87,340) yesterday for the racist chanting of its fans at the friendly match against England in Madrid in November. World ruling body FIFA announced the punishment yesterday in Zurich following a meeting of its disciplinary committee.
Several black England players were subjected to monkey noises and other abusive chants from the crowd during their 1-0 defeat at the Bernabeu stadium on November 17.
The punishment also took into account racist abuse at the under-21 match the previous evening.
FIFA, which has adopted a strong anti-racism stance, warned in a statement that any repeat of the racist behaviour could result in them playing behind closed doors or expulsion from one or several FIFA competitions.
The Spanish Football Federation is also investigating the behavior of national team coach Luis Aragones after his controversial comments about Arsenal’s black French player Thierry Henry and England’s colonial past before the match.
