Iran, Saudi agree to reschedule Sepahan-Al Ittihad fixture: FM
Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed on a second date for the AFC Champions League game between Persian Gulf Pro League side Sepahan and the Jeddah giant Al Ittihad, said the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
The match in Group C of the Asian elite clubs competition was called off at Isfahan’s Naqsh-e Jahan Stadium on Monday after the Saudi side refused to take to the pitch.
Al Ittihad is yet to officially announce the reason behind the controversial decision but wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the club was informed by the AFC’s organizing official that “the game would not take place on the scheduled date and the team is allowed to leave the venue.”
Al Ittihad flew back to Saudi Arabia on Monday night.
“The Saudi Foreign Minister [Faisal bin Farhan] and I have been in contact regarding the issue and we have already agreed to reschedule the fixture,” Amir-Abdollahian said on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“The Tehran-Riyadh ties are on the right track and we can’t afford to let the sports be manipulated as a political leverage,” added the Iranian top official, while calling on the AFC to “act on a technical basis when deciding on the situation.”
In a statement on Monday night, the Asian football governing body said the game game was canceled “due to unanticipated and unforeseen circumstances,” adding: “This matter will now be referred to the relevant committees.”
Several sources, including the Iranian Fars and Tasnim new agencies, reported that the players of the Saudi side refused to leave the dressing room due to a bust of Iranian Quds Force General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020, being placed at the entrance to the pitch.