The United Arab Emirates Football Association (UAEFA) protested that Almoez Ali and Bassam Ali Rawi were not eligible to represent Qatar, who won the semi-final 4-0 and went on to lift the Asian Cup for the first time, as their mothers were not born in the country.

The UAEFA claimed they should have been awarded the match due to the alleged ineligibility of Sudan-born Ali, who finished as the tournament's top scorer.

It had dropped its challenge against Al Rawi as he was suspended for the semi-final.

Both the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and its Appeals Committee rejected the appeal from the UAEFA, which took its case to the CAS.

The CAS panel ruled Ali's mother holds dual nationality with Qatar and Sudan but was "comfortably satisfied that the player is a Qatari national" and was able to represent them at the tournament when upholding the decision from the AFC Appeals Committee.

Ali scored the second of Qatar's four goals in the comfortable semi-final win over the UAE, who were hosting the tournament.

He finished the competition with a total of nine goals, including the first of three in Qatar's 3-1 triumph against Japan in the final.

The semi-final at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi was an ill-tempered affair after the two middle-eastern nations severed diplomatic ties in 2017 when the UAE was one of a group of countries to accuse Qatar of sponsoring terrorism.

Home fans booed the Qatari anthem before kick-off and shoes were thrown at their players – a huge insult in the Arab world.