Ahli midfielder Mohamed Shawki has been cleared by CAF to participate in the second-leg of the Champions League semi-finals match against ASEC Mimosas, the African champions said. Shawki picked up a yellow card in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Ivorian champions in Cairo, his second in the competition this year, which led Ahli to eventually assume he will miss the return game. "We asked CAF about Mohamed Shawki's disciplinary situation for the second-leg and they confirmed he is clear to play," Ahli assistant coach Hossam Al-Badri told FilGoal.com on Monday. Al-Badri said that CAF informed Ahli that the yellow cards from the group stage of the competition are dropped when the teams reach the semi-finals.
Osama Hosni Shawki's yellow card had frustrated Ahli coach Manuel Jose who went to accuse the referee of purposely cautioning Shawki so he would miss the second-leg. Now, both Shawki and defender Wael Gomaa have a yellow card for the pants as they head for the second-leg that will take place in Abidjan on October 15th. On the other hand, Al-Badri confirmed that striker Osama Hosni will be sidelined for at least two weeks after straining his groin muscle in the 16th minute of the game against ASEC. Ahli coach Manuel Jose has given his players two days of rest before resuming training.
