The Saudi Arabian team Al-Ittihad around superstar Karim Benzema has left Iran before the Champions League game at Sepahan FC.
Iran – In the summer, the world’s football stars moved to Saudi Arabia in droves. There they collect big money, but they also have to live with the fact that not everything goes as they know it from their careers.
The team around star striker Karim Benzema (35, back right) left Iran before kick-off. © IMAGO / MB Media Solutions
France’s goalgetter Karim Benzema (35) and his famous teammates N’Golo Kanté (32), Luiz Felipe (26) and Fabinho (29) had to leave their club Al-Ittihad’s away game without having achieved anything.
The team traveled to Iran as normal a day before Monday’s scheduled match to face Sepahan FC. The team completed their final training there on Monday evening.
How “Arab News” reported that a day later, shortly before the match, those responsible and some of the players from Al-Itthad suddenly noticed three huge statues on the pitch, which heated up the Saudis’ tempers.
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The picture there was Iran’s former high-ranking military officer, Ghassem Soleimani. The Revolutionary Guard general was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq on January 3, 2020.
Political tensions have existed between Iran and Saudi Arabia for a long time. Al-Nassr’s away game with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (38) on September 19th in Tehran was the first match on Iranian soil against a Saudi Arabian team in years.
Sepahan FC officials had half an hour to remove the bust
Sepahan coach José Morais (58) and his team waited in vain for the match to kick off. © IMAGO / ITAR-TASS
The club officials and players from the Benzema club brought the bust to the attention of the Asian Football Confederation officials.
The association then asked those responsible to remove them because, according to the regulations, political messages are not allowed to be sent during the games.
They had half an hour to act, but let this deadline pass.
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The players and fellow travelers from Al-Ittihad then packed their belongings and headed directly to the airport to begin their journey home. The game was canceled.
The association then simply announced: “The ACL match between Sepahan FC and Al-Ittihad, which was scheduled to take place at the Naghsh-e-Jahan Stadium in Isfahan, has been canceled due to unforeseen and unforeseeable circumstances.”
When they returned to Saudi Arabia, the club received widespread support from their association. It is still unclear how the game will be scored or whether it will be rescheduled.
2023-10-03 21:33:30
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