Regulations of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup Competition

Chapter 1: Preliminary Provisions

Article 1: Scope of Application and Interpretation

    1. The definitions and terms contained in the Competitions and Championships Regulation shall apply to this Regulation, unless otherwise stipulated.
    1. Without prejudice to the provisions of this Regulation; the provisions contained in the Competitions and Championships Regulation shall apply in all matters not addressed in this Regulation.
    1. Any reference to the Federation's Charter or any of its regulations shall be a reference to those systems and regulations in force at the time of application.
    1. This Regulation stipulates the rights, duties, and responsibilities of the Federation, clubs, officials, and players in the competition.
    1. This Regulation, along with all decisions, instructions, and circulars approved by the Federation's Board of Directors related to the competition, shall be binding on all persons subject to this Regulation.
    1. The Federation shall organize and manage the competition and shall undertake the commercial, marketing, and media affairs of the competition in accordance with the Federation's Charter, the Competitions and Championships Regulation, this Regulation, and other Federation regulations.

Chapter 2: Participation, Competition Law

Article 2: Participation

    1. Thirty-two (32) clubs participate in the competition, namely all the clubs of the Saudi Professional League in the same season in which the competition is held, in addition to the fourteen highest-ranked clubs before the start of the First Division Professional League in the same season in which the competition is held.
    1. In the event of approval of an amendment to the number of clubs participating in the competition or approval of any amendment to the number of clubs in the Saudi Professional League and the First Division Professional League; the Federation shall issue its decision on the mechanism for selecting the participating clubs or the excluded clubs in the competition and the effective date of the amendment decision.
    1. In the event of a club’s refusal due to force majeure, or before the issuance of the official competition schedule, the following shall apply:
    • 1/3 The highest-ranked club in the First Division Professional League competition, excluding the participating clubs, in the season preceding the season in which the competition is held, shall participate.
    • 2/3 If the highest-ranked club is ineligible or refuses; the next club in the ranking shall participate in descending order.
    1. Subject to the sanctions stipulated in the Disciplinary and Ethics Regulations regarding the withdrawal or refusal of the club after the issuance of the official competition schedule; the subparagraphs of paragraph (3) of this article shall apply to the mechanism for selecting a replacement club for the club refusing to participate in this competition.

Article 3: Competition Law

    1. The competition matches are played over (5) five stages, which are the Round of 32, Round of 16, Quarter-finals, Semi-finals, and the Final match.
    1. The competition matches are played in a single-elimination format in each stage, starting from the Round of 32 up to the Final match.
    1. The winning team in each match at every stage advances to the next stage, while the losing team is eliminated from the competition. The winning team in the Final match is the champion of the competition.
    1. In the event of a draw between the two teams in the regular time of the match, the following procedures are applied to determine the winning team:
    • 1/4 An extra time of (30) thirty minutes is played, divided into two equal halves.
    • 2/4 If the draw persists; the penalty shootout rule is applied from the penalty mark in accordance with the instructions of the International Federation.
    1. A draw is conducted to determine the matchups for the Round of (32) without specifying the venues of the matches, provided that all matches are held at the home grounds of the second-level clubs. For the purposes of this stage, the participating clubs are divided into two levels, with the first level including the top (16) clubs in the Saudi Professional League ranking before the start of the season in which the competition is held, while the second level includes the remaining participating clubs. The draw results in a matchup between a first-level club as the away team and a second-level club as the home team.
    1. After the conclusion of the Round of 32 matches and the determination of the qualified clubs, a draw is held to determine the matchups and venues (to determine the home and away teams) for the next stage. A new draw is conducted after the end of each stage up to the Semi-finals stage, and each draw referred to in this paragraph is open without any restrictions.
    1. The home and away teams in the Final match are determined during the draw for the Semi-finals stage, while the Federation determines the venue and date of the Final match later in coordination with the relevant authorities.

Chapter 3: Technical Procedures

Article 4: Suspension Due to Warnings (Yellow Cards) and Expulsion (Red Cards)

    1. If a player or official receives two warnings in different matches in the competition; they are automatically suspended from participating in the next match.
    1. If a player or official is sent off with a red card (direct or indirect dismissal); they are automatically suspended from participating in the next match unless a decision is issued by the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee specifying the details of the penalty.
    1. Any player who has only one warning by the end of the quarter-final matches of the competition, this warning does not carry over with the player to the semi-final stage of the competition.
    1. In the event of cancellation, replay, or non-completion of any match; the relevant articles in the Disciplinary and Ethics Regulations regarding warnings and dismissals shall apply.
    1. Each club is responsible for monitoring the number of warnings and dismissals of its players and officials and ensuring their eligibility to participate in matches.
    1. If any player or official transfers or is loaned to another club; they retain their record of yellow and red cards during the competition matches.
    1. The remaining articles contained in the Disciplinary and Ethics Regulations shall apply in this regard, including but not limited to; the mechanism for transferring cards between different competitions, and the mechanism for transferring cards from one season to another.

Chapter 4: Team Roster

Article 5: Eligibility of Players

    1. Each club has the right to field its Saudi, foreign, or born players in the competition, according to the number allowed to be registered in the team list for the league competition in which it participates during the same season in which the competition is held. To clarify this paragraph: Saudi Professional League clubs' teams may participate with (10) ten foreign players in the main match list.
    1. Each club may field any player classified in the rosters of lower divisions than the first team in each match of the competition, whether they are Saudi, foreign, born, professional, or amateur (without an upper limit), provided that the number of foreign or born players does not exceed the allowed limit stated in paragraph (1) of this article.
    1. The number of substitute players in the match list shall be a minimum of (5) five players and a maximum of (12) twelve players.

Chapter 5: Financial Costs

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