“Welcome Ronaldo!” “. The Iranians on Monday fervently welcomed the Portuguese star of the Saudi team Al Nassr which is due to face the local team Persepolis FC in Tehran in the Asian Champions League, a match made possible by the diplomatic rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Such was the frenzy around Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Saudi Arabia in January, that dozens of fans briefly invaded the lobby of his team’s hotel to try to approach him and take a photo. Al Nassr then canceled his trip to the stadium for a final training session before Tuesday evening’s match.
At the start of the afternoon, it was all smiles as Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates were greeted by the cries of joy of dozens of fans as they left the Imam Khomeini airport by bus. Previously, “CR7” was offered a sumptuous Persian carpet by the president of the Persepolis club.
Large “Welcome” banners in English, Arabic and Persian with portraits of Al Nassr stars were hung on the bridges of major roads crossing the immense Iranian capital, unaccustomed to welcoming international icons due to isolation diplomatic of the country. “It was a great moment, we all appreciated the welcome from the Iranian supporters,” explained Al Nassr coach Luis Castro at a press conference. Persepolis coach Yahya Golmohammadi was pleased to welcome a “great team”.
Empty stadium
Unfortunately, no fans will be able to attend the match on Tuesday in the Azadi stadium, the largest in the country with its 90,000 seats. The fault lies in a sanction imposed by the Asian Confederation (AFC) after the publication in 2021 of a controversial post on the Persepolis Instagram page. The match played behind closed doors will however be broadcast on television (9:30 p.m. local time). “Playing in an empty stadium doesn’t give you the taste of real football,” lamented Luis Castro.
Between now and kick-off, Al Nassr players are placed under the security of an “elite unit” of law enforcement, specialized in presidential trips, according to the sports site Varzesh 3.
The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, whose Instagram account has 605 million subscribers, also relaunched the debate on restrictions on internet access in the Islamic Republic. Iran has severely limited access to social media since the start of a protest movement in 2022 following the death in detention of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, arrested for violating the strict dress code in force in the country. A senior Persepolis official, Reza Darvish, proposed that the Saudi team obtain Iranian SIM cards with unlimited internet access.
On a sporting level, the challenge is to get off to a good start in the Asian Champions League, of which the Saudi clubs are now favorites after having strengthened significantly during the summer. Al-Nassr, for example, welcomed Sadio Mané, Aymeric Laporte, Seko Fofana, Marcelo Brozovic and Otavio during the summer transfer window.
Al-Nassr will try to avenge its defeat against the Reds in the semi-finals of the competition in 2020. The most successful and popular club in Iran, Persepolis was a finalist in 2018 and 2020 in the event, won in 1995 by Al Nassr.
This match also has a diplomatic dimension since it is the first to pit Saudi and Iranian clubs on opposing ground, and not on neutral ground as has been the case for seven years. The AFC gave the green light in August, five months after the agreement to resume ties between the two Middle Eastern heavyweights concluded in March under the aegis of China. Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran severed relations in 2016 after the attack on Saudi diplomatic missions by demonstrators from the Islamic Republic who were protesting Riyadh’s execution of a Shiite cleric. The AFC then found an arrangement, described at the time as “very unfortunate”, allowing teams from the two countries to face each other on neutral ground.
2023-09-18 21:14:12
#Football #Cristiano #Ronaldo #unleashes #passions #Tehran #match
