The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has rescheduled matches across its tournaments due to the security situation in Iran — weeks after Indian club Mohun Bagan Super Giants were “withdrawn” from AFC competitions after refusing to play in the nation.
Mohun Bagan, from Kolkata, requested to Asian football’s governing body to reschedule their AFC Champions League Two — the nation’s second-tier competition — match against Tractor on October 2, which was due to take place in the Iranian city of Tabriz. Five days later, the AFC said the Indian club were “considered to have withdrawn” from the tournament due to their refusal to play in Iran.
Tractor’s home game against Tajikistani club Ravshan, scheduled for October 23, has been reversed to an ‘away’ fixture for the Iranian club, while Al Nassr’s AFC Champions League Elite game away against Tehran-based Esteghlal has been moved to the neutral venue of Dubai — where Iran’s World Cup qualifier against Qatar was played last week.
The AFC had said following “consultation with FIFA and the relevant stakeholders” that the “prevailing security situation” in Iran was behind the decision to move the World Cup qualifier to Dubai.
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