Is Neymar’s Participation in AFC Champions League Matches Legal? The Controversy Explained

The question of the participation of the Brazilian star Neymar Jr., a player of the Al Hilal Club football team, in the match against Al Ain, UAE, in the third round of the AFC Champions League for the elite, is still very painful, and it has provoked disagreement among legal experts, and the question has arisen, “Is the participation of the player legal or not?” “

Neymar Jr., returning to the field after a year-long absence due to a cruciate ligament injury and a cartilage injury, took part as a substitute in the UAE game with Al Ain, which saw the victory of Al Hilal at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, with a score of (5-4), in the rich summit of football in the third round of the competition of the Western group.

Ahmed Al-Amir, a consultant in international sports law, said on the platform (X), “The player Neymar has been restricted in a way that involves the wrong application of the law , and was not named by the authorized person. The general rule is that local transfer rules are applied to the registration of players, and the question that forces whether the legislator allowed Saudi clubs to register players above the number allowed, and this was through a cycle or statement of an appendix to the generalization of registration periods and requirements for the 2024-2025 season The answer, of course: No.

He said, “If the legislator wanted this, it should be announced and announced, because the laws, regulations, circulars, their texts, amendments and additions to them must be announced until they come to effect. Neymar’s participation is illegal. and he is not legally eligible to take part in the competition, and we will see on Tuesday in the cup games proof of this by not being eligible to participate, because cup games give opportunity for all players registered on the club’s list to participate.

Sports lawyer Saud Al-Rumman revealed that he had communicated with an official of the Football Association, who confirmed that Neymar’s participation in the Asian Elite League was legal, based on the Federation’s degree without specifying a certain number of foreign players for each team during registration. times, and the number is still open for participation in foreign competitions.