10 october 2024 : Two days after declaring that Mohun Bagan Super Giant had been considered to have withdrawn from the Asian Champions League 2 (ACL2) for not traveling to Iran, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has informed Esteghlal FC that their match against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr must be played at a “neutral” venue.
Mohun Bagan is expected to bring up this issue in their appeal to the AFC. “It does seem strange that Mohun Bagan was treated differently from Al-Nassr-Esteghlal,” a club official stated. The club is consulting with lawyers and plans to file their appeal soon.
The Esteghlal-Al-Nassr match is set for October 22 in the Asian Champions League. According to a post on the Iranian club’s X account, AFC has instructed the Iran Football Federation to designate a neutral venue promptly. Another report mentioned that the Asian Champions League 2 match between Tractor SC and Ravshan of Tajikistan, scheduled for November 7, will also be moved.
The ongoing conflict in West Asia, which escalated after Iran fired 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1, has prompted the change in venues.
Mohun Bagan had previously requested the AFC to either postpone or move their October 2 match in Tabriz, Iran, to a neutral site due to safety concerns raised by 35 of their players. AFC responded by declaring that, under tournament rules, Mohun Bagan would be considered as having withdrawn for not attending the match in Iran. Consequently, all of Mohun Bagan’s matches, including their 0-0 home draw with Ravshan, will be excluded from group standings.