Iranian football teams not to play in neutral venues: Ali Kafashian
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Loading...Tasnim – TEHRAN, Ali Kafashian, the Iran football federation vice president, said that matches between Asian clubs must be played on a home and away basis in next year’s Asian Champions League and there should be no exceptions.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Executive Committee decided to maintain the current home and away format as per normal practice and to follow the competition regulations in the AFC Champions League 2018 for matches between clubs from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The Asian Champions League already sees games featuring clubs from Saudi Arabia and Iran played in neutral venues due to a diplomatic disagreement between those countries. Qatar, along with Oman and the United Arab Emirates, hosted some of those games this season.
In the session attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino in Bangkok on Tuesday, AFC Executive Committee did not significantly clarify whether the rule includes the Iranian clubs, but Kafashian said there is no exception for any club.
“Mr Infantino said any country should be allowed to play in its home, so there is no problem for the Iranian teams because the law included all of the countries,” Kafashian said.
