The Yemeni Football Federation (YFF) has lodged a formal protest with the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) over the decision to disqualify two players from the Yemeni national U17 team during their match against Saudi Arabia. The protest comes as the Yemeni team prepares to face the winner of the Syria-Bahrain match in the upcoming semi-finals.

The Yemeni U17 team had qualified for the semi-finals of the West Asian Championship as the best second-placed team after Iraq's 2-1 victory over Jordan. However, the joy of qualification was dampened by the organizing committee's decision to suspend two Yemeni players, leading to their loss against Saudi Arabia. This has sparked outrage from the YFF.

In the protest letter, which "Bran Press" has seen, the YFF expresses its rejection of the procedures, which it describes as "violating the protocol" followed by FIFA and the AFC in player testing procedures.

The YFF holds the WAFF responsible for the loss of the Yemeni U17 team against Saudi Arabia and the deprivation of the players from participation, threatening to escalate the issue to Asian and international authorities.

The organizing committee has not yet responded to the YFF's protest.

The Yemeni U17 team conducted a training session on Saturday morning in preparation for the semi-finals of the West Asian Championship and their upcoming match against the winner of the Syria-Bahrain match on Monday.

On Friday, the Yemeni national U17 team lost 3-1 to their Saudi counterparts in the second round of the 11th West Asian Championship held in Jordan. The match was part of Group B, which also includes Oman, and was played at the Polo Stadium in Amman, Jordan.