Football: Gyan claims he was racially abused in Asian Champions League semi

Players, officials and staff try to calm UAE's al-Ain forward Asamoah Gyan (centre, #3) following altercation between Al-Ain and Al-Hilal players during their AFC Champions League semi-final football match on Sept 30, 2014 at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium
Players, officials and staff try to calm UAE's al-Ain forward Asamoah Gyan (centre, #3) following altercation between Al-Ain and Al-Hilal players during their AFC Champions League semi-final football match on Sept 30, 2014 at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in al-Ain. -- PHOTO: AFP

DUBAI (REUTERS) - Al Ain striker Asamoah Gyan has accused Al Hilal's Romanian midfielder Mihai Pintilii of racially abusing him during their AFC Champions League semi-final second-leg clash on Tuesday.

The Ghanaian was sent off with 20 minutes remaining for a lunging scissor tackle on the skilful Salem Al-Dawsari, as the Emirati side were knocked out 4-2 on aggregate despite winning Tuesday's home match 2-1.

Pintilii ran over to Gyan to remonstrate after the tackle near the left hand touch-line, which sparked a melee between a number of players from both sides.

Ghana captain Gyan, the tournament's top scorer with 12 goals in as many games, posted a message on his Twitter account on Wednesday saying "it happened" with a link to an article claiming the player was subjected to "racist abuse".

"The player has no right to tell me what he did," Gyan said. "He said something to me which made me upset. He said an abusive word - I really didn't like it.

"He knows what he said, you can ask him. He knows what he said."

The article added that Al Ain were expected to launch a formal complaint to the Asian Football Confederation upon gathering all details about the case.

Gyan, who joined the club originally on loan in 2011 before making the deal permanent a year later, was involved in some pushing and shoving before leaving the field following the dismissal which came with the scores level on the night at 1-1.

The 28-year-old said he deserved the red card after mowing down the winger.

"I must confess it was a harsh tackle. But in my mind I did not go for the player, I just went in strong for the ball," Gyan said. "I am a professional.

"The referee took his decision. It is football so I cannot complain. I lost my head a bit, but life goes on."

Al Hilal will face the winners of Wednesday's second semi-final between Western Sydney Wanderers and FC Seoul, which is level after a goal-less first leg draw in South Korea.

Meanwhile, Iraq's Erbil will take on Kuwait side Qadsia Sporting Club in the 11th consecutive all-West Asian final of the AFC Cup, after ending the run of Hong Kong side Kitchee.

Erbil, runners-up in 2012, claimed a 3-2 aggregate win over Kitchee after taking the second leg of their semi-final 2-1 in Hong Kong on Tuesday, where a huge thunderstorm before kick-off made conditions tricky for the first half.

The visitors adapted quickest, however, with Ali Faez and Amjed Radhi putting the Iraqis 2-0 ahead in the first seven minutes to leave the hosts requiring three goals to advance which always looked unlikely.

Kitchee pulled one back with 23 minutes left but joined Indonesian champions Persipura Jayapura, who were beaten 10-2 on aggregate by Qadsia SC, in falling short of becoming the first side from outside of West Asia to reach the final of the AFC's second-tier club competition. Erbil, who have played home matches in Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan because of the security issues in Iraq, have been drawn to "host" the Oct 18 final against Qadsia, who finished runners-up last year and in 2010.

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