Asian Champions league comes in the crossfire of politics

After a sharp escalation of tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia over the execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr in the Sunni-dominated kingdom, Saudi football clubs in the Asian Champions League have appealed for their fixtures in Iran to be played on neutral grounds.

Fans of the Saudi national team wave the national flag during the AFC qualifying football match for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. AFP PHOTO/Khalil Mazraawi

Saudi clubs Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and Al-Nasr called for the matches against their Iranian counterparts to be played on neutral grounds.

The next round of AFC Champions League fixtures are set for February. The clubs having an issue over political tensions with their rivals, are expected to ask the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to officially submit the request to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). 

In response to that, the head of Iran’s Premier League, Mehdi Taj, said Saudi Arabian football clubs had only found a pretext to refrain from facing the Iranian teams.

He added that Iran has a weapon at its disposal: they can file official lawsuits with AFC against Saudi Arabian football clubs, since politics should not be mingled with football and determine the fate of sports events.

“Saudi teams have announced they would not travel to Iran to play against country’s football clubs. They also have called teams of other countries to follow suit - articles 3 and 4 of AFC assert that political issues should not be extended to football, and this is not for the first time that Saudis take pretexts of this sort on their unethical pursuits,” Taj said. “They had once put up the propaganda before in match with Foulad of Ahvaz in Asian Champions League during dubious mineral water bottles.”

He also put forward the fact that Saudi Arabia usually invested huge amounts in Asian Champions League and it was inevitable that they would not spare any means possible to find their way to the top.

Taj said that the Saudis should only think about football instead of resorting to “utterly unethical and non-athletic” behaviours. He also threatened that Iran’s football authorities would firmly stand against such despicable acts. “The best response is to play strong football on the field and to defeat Saudis on their own ground,” he emphasized.

Shiite Iran strongly condemned the execution and angry crowds in Tehran set the Saudi embassy on fire, prompting Riyadh to sever diplomatic links with its Gulf neighbour.