January 25 – In another illustration of growing tensions in the region, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has decided to amend the schedule for the AFC Champions League involving matches between clubs from Saudi Arabia and Iran but has stopped short, pending further checks, of upholding a Saudi request to play fixtures on neutral ground because of safety concerns.
The Saudis, along with the United Arab Emirates, formally asked to play national and club fixtures against Iranian teams on neutral territory to “assure the safety and security of the teams and accompanying delegations”.
In a statement, the AFC said that in order to give more time for its administration to obtain independent evaluation on the safety and security situation between Saudi Arabia and IR Iran, its Competitions Committee had decided to switch match days in each of the four Champions League groups involving the two countries.
The Committee agreed to set March 15 as the date by when the evaluation should be complete. “If there has not been a return to normal relations by then, all matches between teams from Saudi Arabia and IR Iran will be played at neutral venues for the rest of the competition,” the statement said.
Iran’s football federation responded to the Saudi-UAE request by urging the AFC “to disallow political interference in football” and reiterated that it was committed to “ensuring the safety and security of all the national teams and clubs participating in various international competitions.”
Meeting for a second day, the AFC Competitions Committee “considered in depth the unique and complex situation”.
While there is no change in the schedule for matches between clubs from the UAE and Iran, the AFC said Iran “will be requested to provide a full security plan and guarantee to the UAE.”
Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have heightened following the execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr which sparked condemnation across the Middle East.
Earlier this month, Saudi clubs Al-Ahli FC, Al-Hilal FC, Al-Ittihad FC and Al-Nasr FC issued statements demanding that they play Asian Champions League matches against Iranian clubs at neutral venues after the Saudi government decided to ban all travel to Iran in response to the attacks on its embassy in Tehran which followed the execution.
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