Shandong’s shock ACLE withdrawal not enough to lift Pohang Steelers

Pohang Steelers forward Kim In-sung, right, chases the ball during the AFC Champions League Elite league stage match against Johor Darul Ta’zim at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Malaysia on Feb. 18. [POHANG STEELERS]

 
The Pohang Steelers did not benefit from Shandong Taishan’s withdrawal from the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) league stage on Wednesday, as the K League side was deducted three points for its November victory over the Chinese team. 
 

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Shandong Taishan was scheduled to face Ulsan at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on Wednesday evening but forfeited the fixture just hours before kickoff, reportedly due to widespread illness among its players. This led to the match's cancellation.
 
The AFC released a statement on its website on Wednesday, stating that Shandong was “considered to have withdrawn from the AFC Champions League Elite after the club confirmed that it did not intend to report for the league stage match.”
 
Before their withdrawal, Shandong sat in eighth place on the table, a position that would have secured them a spot in the round of 16, as the top eight teams from East Asia advance to the knockout stage alongside eight clubs from West Asia.
 

An annoucement about cancelation of the AFC Champions League Elite match between Ulsan HD and Shandong Taishan is seen on the big screen at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on Feb. 19. [NEWS1]

 
The Steelers were one place behind in ninth, just outside the qualification spots, but despite Shandong's withdrawal, they were unable to progress. 
 
This was due to an AFC rule stating that all teams that played Shandong during the league stage would lose any points earned from their head-to-head matches against the Chinese club, while teams that never faced Shandong remained unaffected. 
 
AFC article 5.6 states that "any participating club that withdraws from the competition after it has commenced shall have all its matches canceled and considered null and void. No points and goals in those matches shall be taken into consideration when determining the final rankings in a league." 
 
Had the Steelers not lost the three points from their 4-2 win over Shandong on Nov. 6, they would have edged out Shanghai Port — who did not lose any points since they never faced Shandong — by a single point to claim the No. 8 spot and advance to the round of 16. Instead, the Steelers remained in ninth place with their total reduced to six points. 
 
The AFC confirmed Shanghai Port’s advancement to the round of 16 by posting a graphic on its X account on Thursday. 
 
The match cancellation did not impact Ulsan, as the K League 1 defending champions were already set to be eliminated regardless of the result.
 
Gwangju also retained its round of 16 spot after finishing fourth in the table, as it did not lose any points — having already failed to earn any in a 3-1 loss to Shandong on Feb. 11.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]