FOOTBALL – The Bahrain Football Association (BFA) announced yesterday the kick-off times and venues for the first matches in its national competitions following the recent suspension of games due to the unfortunate events that have been taking place in the kingdom.
Two fixtures in the quarter-finals of the His Majesty the King’s Cup will be taking place tomorrow, which will mark the resumption of the tournament following the sudden pause.
Al Ahli will be facing off with Al Ittifaq at the National Stadium in Riffa, while Bahrain Club will take on Riffa at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town.
Both games are scheduled for simultaneous 9.30pm kick-offs, and they will be played without spectators and media in attendance, which is one of the major guidelines in the gradual continuation of sports events in Bahrain amidst the current situation.
His Majesty the King’s Cup is the richest annual football tournament on the island.
Holders Al Khaldiya and Muharraq are already through to the competition’s semi-finals, following wins in their matches held Friday last week prior to the postponements. Khalidya defeated A’ali 2-0 while Riffa outclassed Al Shabab 3-0.
The winner of the Ahli-Ittifaq duel will next face Muharraq in the last four, while the victor between Riffa and Shabab will take on Khaldiya.
Tomorrow’s fixtures will be held under a series of strict guidelines announced by the Bahrain Football Association.
Play shall be suspended immediately by the match referee and commissioner upon receiving an alert of a security threat.
The pitch shall be evacuated at once, with all players, technical and administrative staff, and officials proceeding directly to the locker rooms or designated safe zones.
The location of the threat shall be verified by the referee and commissioner; if the danger is away from the pitch and does not pose a threat to the safety of all those present, the game may be resumed without waiting for it to have passed.
However, if the threat is close to the perimeter of the venue, the match shall be suspended until it has completely passed.
After any potential dangers have been cleared, the match referee and commissioner will assess the situation at the stadium in terms of safety and all technicalities.
Players and referees will then be given five minutes to warm up before resuming action.
Matches are to resume from the same minute it was stopped and with the team keeping possession at the time it was paused.
If it was halted during injury time, further time adjustments will be made depending on the duration of the stoppage.
The referees’ disciplinary authority remains in effect during stoppages.
No substitutions are permitted during this period.
They can only be done with all players on the pitch and with the action having resumed.
A match may be suspended for a maximum 30 minutes.
If the venue’s required security and technical readiness cannot be confirmed before resumption, the match referee and commissioner have the right to terminate the contest in accordance with approved regulations.
In the event that the game is abandoned, it will be resumed at the same minute, with the same score line, and with the same team keeping possession at a later date.
Khaldiya won last season’s HM the King’s Cup after edging past Sitra 3-2 in the tournament final, played in April earlier this year.
Following tomorrow’s His Majesty the King’s Cup quarters, games are also set to resume in the Nasser Bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League on Thursday next week, the Bahrain First Division on March 15, the 2025-26 Bahrain Super Cup on March 18, and age-group tournaments on March 24.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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