TEHRAN, Iran – Iran has banned its sports teams from traveling to countries it considers “hostile,” Iranian state television reported on Thursday, anticipating the football match scheduled for Traktor Sazi FC in Saudi Arabia. The ban, announced by Iran’s Ministry of Sports in Tehran, does not mention the World Cup, which begins on June 11 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The ministry’s statement highlighted the Traktor match against Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, which was scheduled to be played in Saudi Arabia in April. This is a round of 16 match in the AFC Champions League Elite.
The war situation in the region has impacted almost all Middle Eastern countries, with damage caused by missile attacks, drone strikes, or shrapnel.“The presence of national teams and clubs in countries considered hostile and unable to guarantee the safety of Iranian athletes and team members is prohibited until further notice,” it was indicated.
Iranian Ministry of Sports
The Traktor’s playoff match in Saudi Arabia is the result of Wednesday’s draw by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to determine the quarter-final pairings, a day after announcing that the western zone playoffs, which were postponed due to the war in the Middle East, have been rescheduled for April 13 and 14 in Jeddah.
The Saudi city will also host the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of the tournament from April 16 to 25, with the organizers setting the dates and hoping for peace in the region. The Iranian ministry added that the football federation and clubs “will be responsible for notifying the Asian Football Confederation about this matter to relocate the matches”. The Iranian ambassador to Mexico City has said that the country was negotiating with FIFA to move Iran’s three group stage matches from the United States to Mexico after US President Donald Trump discouraged the team from attending the 48-nation tournament, citing security concerns. However, last week, FIFA President Gianni Infantino further cooled Iran’s attempts to move its World Cup matches, saying that the world football governing body wants the tournament to “go ahead as scheduled”. Iranian government and football officials have said they do not want to boycott the World Cup, but that it is not possible for the national team to come to the United States due to military attacks against the country by Israel and the United States since February 28.
