The Saudi Football Federation today assured that it supports the decision of Al IttihadThe group of Karim Benzemawho refused to play the Asian Champions League against Sepahan Iranian, due to the presence in the stadium of the bust of General Qasem Soleimani, assassinated by the United States in 2020 and considered a terrorist by the Saudis.
“The Saudi federation confirms that it fully supports the Al Ittihad club and the adoption of all legal means to preserve the rights” of the team, the federation said in a statement published on the social network X, formerly Twitter. The entity, which supports the adoption of “all legal measures”, noted that it “appreciates the interest of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the match to take place on suitable occasions”, without mentioning anything about on the reasons for Al’s departure. show
The Saudi club clarified in a statement that “upon their arrival on Monday, October 2 at the stadium designated for the match against Iranian Sepahan Club, the AFC inspector informed them that the match will not take place on the scheduled date and that the team may leave the stadium. Afterwards, the club’s delegation left the stadium for the airport,” without giving further details.
The Saudi team’s players did not even enter the Naghsh-e Jahan stadium in the Iranian city of Isfahan, where around 60,000 spectators were waiting, Iranian media reported. After a delay of more than thirty minutes, the referee decided to cancel the match, due to “unforeseen circumstances”, as explained by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in a statement.
Iranian media have pointed to the presence of a statue of soldier Qasem Soleimani, former general in charge of the Quds Force of the Guardians of the Iranian Revolution, who was assassinated by the United States under the administration of Donald Trump, as the reason why the Saudis do not want of the club to play a game that I could consider political.
Soleimani is seen as a national hero in Iran for his prominent role in operations against the United States, in addition to helping Shiite militias in Iraq, especially in the fight against the jihadist Islamic State (IS), and the insurgents Shiite Houthis in Yemen.
A terrorist who caused instability
Both the West and most of the Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, consider Soleimani a “terrorist” and a figure who causes instability in the region.
Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in March to normalize their diplomatic ties, which have been strained since 2016 after attacks on their diplomatic headquarters following the execution in the Arab kingdom of a key Shiite cleric.
This year’s Asian Champions League matches have contributed to the rapprochement between the two historic rivals, as seen in mid-September, when Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr played in Tehran against Persepolis and sent fans into a frenzy. fans
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
