Adelaide United say they’re entering the unknown in Thursday’s Asian Champions League qualifier against Indonesia’s Persipura Jayapura.

The Reds thought they’d already qualified for the lucrative tournament.

Last December, Adelaide were given direct passage into the prestigious club competition when drawn out of the play-off group to progress into the main draw.

Adding to Adelaide’s confusion, the fixture against the Indonesian champions was only confirmed on the weekend, a scenario the South Australian club described as farcical.

Persipura Jayapura play in the Indonesian Super League – a competition outlawed by Indonesian football’s governing body.

Despite winning the league, Persipura were left out of the Asian Champions League but appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

CAS provisionally reinstated Persipura to the league, but a final ruling won’t be determined until next month.

The CAS ruling forced the Asian Football Confederation to hastily schedule Thursday’s fixture at Hindmarsh Stadium – and Persipura only arrived in Adelaide on Wednesday.

The muddle surrounding the match intensified with Reds coach John Kosmina not satisfying the champion’s league criteria as a coach.

Kosmina holds an Asian Football Confederation B coaching licence, not the A-licence required – meaning his assistant coach Luciano Trani will lead United on Thursday.

But Kosmina will still be allowed to sit on the sidelines.

Trani said he and Reds players were trying to ignore the jumble, and concentrate on defeating an opponent they know little about.

“They are just unknowns to us,” Trani said on Wednesday.

“But as long as we play well, it doesn’t matter who we play against – we’ll win.”

Trani said the Reds only received scouting videos of Persipura 24 hours ago.

“They’re a side that is typically Asian football – technically based, and they like to play the ball and move and go and get numbers forward of the ball.

“So we have got to be wary of those actions.”