A match in the Asian Champions League between Saudi and Iranian teams scheduled to take place at a stadium in Iran was canceled due to the presence of a statue of former Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani on the stadium’s internal route. The Saudi team declined to play in the presence of the statue.
The match between Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad and Iran’s Sepahan was scheduled for October 2 in the city of Isfahan, where the stadium is located. However, the Saudi club refused to enter the field due to the presence of Qassem Soleimani’s statue, leading to the cancellation of the match.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) released a statement expressing its commitment to ensuring the safety of players, match officials, spectators, and all stakeholders involved. The matter will now be referred to relevant committees. Images shared on social media showed Qassem Soleimani’s statue placed at the entrance gate of the football pitch with a football patch, prominently displayed for players coming onto the field. General Soleimani, who led Iran’s special Quds Force responsible for extraterritorial operations, played a central role in guiding Iranian activities in the Middle East for many years until his death in a U.S. drone strike in January 2020.
Qassem Soleimani was considered an extremely important figure in Iran, especially after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He oversaw Iranian efforts in the region, including in countries like Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria. While viewed as a hero by the Iranian government, he was seen as a key architect of Iranian policies by the Saudis. Despite recent efforts by both Iran and Saudi Arabia to reduce tensions, relations between the two nations remain highly strained.
This dispute comes after seven years of neutral venues for matches between Saudi Arabia and Iran following security concerns. The announcement of resuming home and away football matches came one month after the conclusion of a landmark agreement reached in March during the third-party mediation in China, in which long-standing rivals agreed to restore diplomatic relations and reopen their respective embassies.
Saudi club Al-Nassr, featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, played a match in Tehran on September 19, marking the first time a Saudi club played in Iran since 2016.
Prior to this, matches between Iranian and Saudi Arabian clubs were played in neutral venues due to security concerns.