Things got curious in the AFC Champions League on Monday. Saudi Arabian champions Al-Ittihad simply refused to play their match – because of a couple of statues.
Karim Benzema’s first Champions League goal in the Asian edition would not have come anyway, the Ballon d’Or winner is currently stricken. But N’golo Kanté and his other teammates from Al-Ittihad in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, also did not play at the Iranian club Sepahan FC on Monday evening. The reason could hardly be more curious.
At Naghsh-e-Jahan Stadium, Sepahan’s venue, there were statues of Qasem Soleimani, the Revolutionary Guards general killed by a US drone strike in Iraq. Unacceptable for Al-Ittihad. The visitors simply refused to play their first away match of this Champions League season.
After a row, Al-Ittihad stay in the catacombs – tensions for years
This was reportedly not about the statues per se. “Their presence is completely irrelevant,” an official of the Saudi Arabian master was quoted as saying. Al-Ittihad was already concerned about having them removed. “We asked them to do so,” the official said, “but they didn’t.” Subsequently, he said, an argument ensued, as a result of which the Benzema club remained in the catacombs.
The Asian Football Confederation eventually issued a statement saying the match had been called off due to “unexpected and unforeseen circumstances”. Around 60,000 spectators were left watching. Mohammed Reza Saket, the managing director of Sepahan, subsequently announced that he would “immediately complain to the AFC”. To be continued.
There had been years of diplomatic tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran recently. On 19 September – Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr met Persepolis in Tehran – a Saudi Arabian club had played in Iran for the first time in years.
