TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran football clubs will quit and not participate at the 2020 AFC Champions League if the Asian Football Confederation doesn’t take back its politically motivated decision to ban them from hosting their opponents in Iran.
The Asian Football Confederation, AFC, has reportedly banned Iran from hosting Champions League football matches, so Iranian clubs have decided to quit the tournament.
A series of reports have suggested the AFC sent a letter to the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) telling them that they would not be hosting AFC Champions League matches for the foreseeable future.
Instead, any match featuring an Iranian team would be played in a different country.
In a meeting held on Saturday in the presence of the Iranian Sports Ministry and the presidents of the four football clubs – Persepolis, Sepahan, Shahr Khodro and Esteghlal in Iran Football Federation’s headquarters, the decision was made by them to withdraw from the competition if the confederation wants them to play in neutral venue.
- source : Tasnim, Irannews
