DUBAI: The Al-Nassr’s AFC Champions League Elite game with Esteghlal of Tehran, scheduled on Tuesday has been shifted to Dubai due to security situation in Iran.
This decision came after the Asian Football Confederation, earlier on October 7 said that Kolkata’s Mohun Bagan Super Giants were “considered to have withdrawn” from the AFC Champions League Two as they did not agree to travel to Iran for their match against Tractor SC, scheduled on October 2 in Tabriz, Iran due to the ongoing situation in Iran.
This decision of shifting the Al Nassr match to Dubai, came out as a surprise in India as previously the Mohun Bagan requested the AFC to change the venue before making the final verdict of not to travel.
“We consistently communicated concerns about the volatile and unsafe conditions in and around Iran, particularly regarding the safety of players and staff,” the official added.
The Indian Super League club said that it had appealed the decision to the relevant AFC committee and hoped a positive response from the other side.
However, the AFC did not reply to an invitation to comment.
Meanwhile, Tractor’s home match against Ravshan from Tajikistan, scheduled to take place on Wednesday, has also been turned into an away game.
In addition, World Cup qualifier of Iran’s national team against Qatar is expected to be shifted to Dubai. The face-off is scheduled to take place on October 15.
Following this decision by the federation, Mohun Bagan stated: the AFC has indeed recognized the volatility of the situation in Iran and as such, has rescheduled or shifted venues for several games,” a spokesperson for Mohun Bagan told Associated Press, adding that the confederation had taken the same geopolitical instability into account that the club had. “Failing to apply the same standard to Mohun Bagan would result in unequal treatment by the AFC.”
It is worth noting here that Al Nassr has four points from the first two games and is gearing up to qualify to the second round of the League.
The Ronaldo-led side is giving their best in the Saudi Pro League after the CR7’s penalty in the 97th minute resulted in a 2-1 win against the Al Shabab on Friday and secured their third spot.
In regard to this the Al-Nassr coach revealed a statement ahead of the Asian Champions League.
“There are a lot of games at the moment and it is not easy,” said Stefano Pioli, Al-Nassr’s coach. “We will do our best to maintain our performances in the Asian Champions League.”
