Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – The Iranian Sepahan Isfahan Club announced that it will file a complaint against the Saudi Jeddah Federation after the second withdrew before the two teams’ match in the second round of the group stage of the AFC Champions League, according to the official Iranian News Agency (IRNA) quoting the team’s executive director. , Muhammad Reda Sakit, Tuesday.
Saket believed that the Saudi club “put forward a demand outside of sporting issues and against the principles proposed everywhere.”
The Iranian club official added: “We organized the necessary matters weeks ago to hold a match according to standards at the AFC Champions League level, and the necessary ground was provided to hold it in the best possible way,” according to Irna.
The administrator of the Iranian club continued, saying: “The Sepahan Club received the Saudi Al-Ittihad team well upon its arrival in Iran, which was appreciated by the executive director of this club.”
Saket added, according to the official Iranian agency: “On Sunday at 11:00 am, a meeting was held in the presence of representatives of the security affairs of the Asian Football Confederation, Sepahan Club, and the Saudi Federation, and everything was approved.”
Regarding the stadium, the administrator in Sepahan Isfahan said: “Naghsh-e Jahan Stadium obtained the approval of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the Asian Football Confederation, the Football Association, and the league organization more than two and a half years ago, and it witnessed the holding of many matches in it.”
The Iranian administrator added, saying: “During the coordination meeting that was held before the match, no ambiguity was raised, and there is nothing of that in the minutes of the meeting. The Sepahan Club, in coordination with the match observer, placed the “Naqsh-e Jahan” stadium at the disposal of the Saudi Al-Ittihad Club for training yesterday. (Sunday), this club conducted a training session in the same stadium with the current design, and they appreciated our hosting them.”
Saket added: “The fans of Sepahan Club, men and women, came to the stadium in large numbers to watch the match, and the ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was our guest, but some matters were raised by the match observer, which is what the Federation demanded, and they were outside sporting issues and against the principles proposed everywhere.” “.
The Iranian administrator added, “Minutes before the match, Al-Ittihad left the field unilaterally and the referees announced the cancellation of the match. We will submit a complaint, along with documents, to the Asian Football Confederation.”
On the other hand, the Jeddah Federation said in a statement published on its official page on “X” (formerly Twitter): “Al-Ittihad Club would like to clarify that after its arrival on Monday to the stadium in which the match with Sepahan Isfahan Club will be held, it was informed by the AFC observer that the match will not take place.” According to the specified time, the team can leave the stadium, and accordingly the club delegation left the stadium heading to the airport.”
The Saudi club added: “The club will follow up on the merits of the matter, and calls on the AFC to preserve the club’s rights guaranteed by the rules and regulations.”
The official Saudi Al-Ikhbariya channel had reported that the Jeddah Union players left the match stadium due to the presence of “political pictures and banners.” A number of tweeters circulated pictures showing the presence of a statue of the former Quds Force commander, Qassem Soleimani, at the corridor from which the players of the two teams enter the field.
2023-10-03 10:11:10
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