AFC has acknowledged the club’s withdrawal while confirming that all necessary action would be taken in accordance with Art. 29 (c) of AFC Champions League 2009 Regulations.

UAE FA General Secretary Yousef Mohd Abdullah, in a letter to AFC, wrote that the club needed time to focus on escaping relegation in the UAE League and therefore would like to withdraw from their final two ACL matches.

Sharjah, who entered the AFC Champions League group stage via the play-offs, have lost all four of their AFC Champions League Group B matches.

AFC Champions League Project Director Suzuki Tokuaki said: “We regret their decision. We must now consider further action according to the regulations.”

All the matches of Sharjah are cancelled and considered null and void (all points, goals scored and goals against will not be counted and taken into consideration when deciding the ranking in the group).

The club also faces disqualification from the next edition of the AFC Champions League as well as being referred to the AFC Disciplinary Committee.