Sports Ministry restricts Iranian teams from visiting hostile countries
The Iranian Ministry of Sports and Youth has barred the country's national and club teams from visiting "adversary countries" amid an ongoing military conflict with a US-Israeli coalition.
The United States and Israel initiated a military campaign against Iran on February 28, with Iran responding with widespread missile and drone attacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the region.
The Sports Ministry's announcement casts doubt on Iranian club Tractor's participation in the knockout phase of the AFC Champions League Elite.
The Iranian top-flight champion is set to take on Emirati club Shabab Al Ahli in the round of 16 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on April 14, after the Asian Football Confederation announced the new schedule for the remainder of the continent's elite clubs' competition on Tuesday.
"In the wake of news indicating a confrontation between Tractor S.C. and an Emirati team on Saudi Arabian soil in the AFC Champions League Elite, the Ministry of Sports and Youth announces that the presence of all national and club teams in countries considered adversaries, where the security of Iranian athletes and team members cannot be guaranteed, is prohibited until further notice," the statement read on Thursday.
"Therefore, the Iranian Football Federation and clubs are obligated to inform the Asian Football Confederation about this matter to relocate the matches," the statement added.
Tractor and the national governing body of the sport have yet to respond to the statement, though the AFC is unlikely to approve any request to change the venue of the games.