For an unusual reason, Monday’s meeting of the Asian Football Champions League between the Iranian club Sepahan Isfahan FC and the Saudi Arabian Al-Ittihad did not take place.
The duel was canceled because the Saudi Arabian team refused to enter the field due to the presence of busts of Iranian general Kasem Soleimani. Several political banners in the auditorium also hindered the guests.
Saudi football club Al Ittihad refused to play against Iran’s Sepahan because of the presence of the statue of the greatest anti-terrorism commander General Qassem Soleimani.
Loving the fact that terrorists are even terrified of Qassem Soleimani’s statue pic.twitter.com/85WxWrPuCD
— Iran Observer (@IranObserver0) October 2, 2023
This military official died in 2020 during the American attack in Iraq and, according to several sources, in the past planned to attack Saudi Arabia and its allies. Saudi officials have argued that Soleimani’s plans could significantly damage tourism and foreign investment in the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula. The US killed high-ranking Iranian general Qasem Soleimani on January 3, 2020, during an attack at the international airport in Baghdad, Iraq. The assassination was ordered by then US President Donald Trump.
Soleimani was believed to have played a key role in arming, training and leading armed groups across the region, including fighters from the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. Saudi Arabia has been at war with these Iran-linked rebels since 2015.
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After three busts of this general were placed in the stadium in Isfahan, the delegation of the Saudi Arabian league champion finally left the stadium, which at the time had 60,000 spectators, after a delay of about 30 minutes. The Asian Football Confederation said in a statement that the Group C match had been cancelled “due to unexpected and unforeseen circumstances”. The match originally had the adjective “postponed”.
Unbelievable: 60k in the stands waiting for Sepahan and Al Ittihad in a tremendous atmosphere, but Al Ittihad refuses to come up due to a statue of Kassem Suleimani that is placed on the sidelines. If the statue won’t be removed the Saudis won’t play. pic.twitter.com/56MBGUA0qL
— Uri Levy (@Levyninho) October 2, 2023
Football confrontations between the teams of Iran and Saudi Arabia in these countries were recently given the green light again after seven years, after China brokered the restoration of diplomatic relations between the countries. These were suspended in 2016 after an angry mob stormed the Saudi embassy in Iran. Mutual duels between teams from Iran and Saudi Arabia have been held exclusively on neutral ground since then.
2023-10-03 10:05:00
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