The Asian Football Confederation is facing a potential legal challenge after seemingly ignoring its own regulations on multi-club ownership to allow three clubs owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to take part in the. The Guardian understands that several leading Asian clubs are considering taking legal action against the AFC and its chairman, Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa.
Similarly to Uefa’s regulations regarding its club competitions, Asian clubs with the same owner are forbidden from entering the Asian Champions League if they have more than a 30% stake based on revenue.
It is understood that in the case of Manchester City’s owners the City Football Group , which owns 65% of Mumbai City and 80% of Melbourne City, that was a straightforward process and that both are fully satisfied the relevant rules and requirements to play in this year’s competition given that there is only a slim chance of them meeting in a competition that is split into two regional zones.
The AFC is now facing calls to explain to its members why it has ignored its own regulations, with a potential legal challenge understood to be among the options under discussion by clubs from the eastern region of the confederation. The AFC and PIF did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.