The organization released a statement on Tuesday that said: “The matter will be referred to the relevant AFC Committees with further updates to be communicated in due course.”
In the top-tier Asian Champions League Elite, four-time champion Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia made it two victories from two with a 5-0 win over Al-Shorta of Iraq.
Marcos Leonardo, signed from Benfica as cover for the injured Neymar, opened the scoring after 11 minutes. Aleksandar Mitrovic made it 2-0 four minutes later. Salem Al-Dawsari, Nasser Al-Dawsari and Mohamed Kanno each scored in the second half.
Elsewhere, Qatar’s Al-Gharafa of Qatar defeated Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates 4-2.
The 24 teams in the revamped tournament are divided into two groups of 12 — one based in the west and one in the east — with the top eight from each progressing to the round of 16.
In the eastern zone, Gwangju FC of South Korea won a second game in its first appearance in Asia with a 1-0 win at Kawasaki Frontale of Japan. Jasir Asani’s first-half penalty was enough.
Also from South Korea, three-time champion Pohang Steelers recovered from an opening-round loss to beat Shanghai Port 3-0. City rival Shanghai Shenhua lost by the same scoreline to Johor of Malaysia while Thailand’s Buriram United won 2-1 at Australia’s Central Coast Mariners.
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