Controversial Al Hilal striker Nassir Al Shamrani says that he hopes that an unsavoury incident at the end of the AFC Champions League final won't hurt his chances of being named Asian Player of the Year.
Al Shamrani is the frontrunner to win the top prize at the 2014 AFC Annual Awards in Manila on Sunday night. The other nominees are Al Ain's Morocco-born defender Ismail Ahmed and Al Sadd winger Khalfan Ibrahim, the Qatari who was named 2006 AFC Player of the Year.
31-year-old Al Shamrani was caught on camera spitting at Western Sydney Wanderers defender Matthew Spiranovic on Nov. 1 after his Al Hilal side had lost the AFC Champions League final against Western Sydney Wanderers. But he insisted that his reaction was only because he was insulted by the Socceroo centre-back.
"I do not expect that I will lose the chance to win this trophy [because of the incident]," the Saudi Arabian international said through a translator at a media conference on Saturday.
"I was provoked by the player of Sydney and this for me is the normal reaction. He used an abusive word away from sportsmanship that provoked me.
"For him, the team wins and he is not supposed to cool down and not to use abusive words and language which really provoked me. At the end of the day, he represents himself." He refused to describe what Spiranovic actually said.
Western Sydney won the AFC Champions League final 1-0 on aggregate over two legs, but the Saudis were furious about a number of penalty calls that weren't given in their favour.
Al Shamrani, who scored 10 goals in Al Hilal's continental campaign, could be sanctioned for his actions. The AFC disciplinary panel met in Manila on Thursday but any decision about possible punishment will only be made after Sunday's awards which mark the 60th anniversary of the Asian confederation.
Meanwhile, Japan's Aya Miyama is favourite to win the 2014 AFC Women's Player of the Year award for a third time. She's on a three-person shortlist alongside compatriot Nahomi Kawasumi and Australian Katrina Gorry.
Miyama helped Japan lift the AFC Women's Asian Cup and was named the Most Valuable Player. She won this award in 2011 and 2012, largely because of her achievements with the world champion Japanese side.