Kuala Lumpur. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced that Iran’s upcoming World Cup qualifying match against Qatar will be relocated to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, due to rising regional tensions. The match, originally scheduled for Oct. 15 in Mashhad, Iran, will now take place in a neutral venue.
"The decision to host the match in a neutral venue was made after careful consideration of the current security situation, in consultation with FIFA and other relevant stakeholders," the AFC stated on Thursday.
Iranian media reports revealed that Tehran’s football authorities had proposed swapping the location of the game, requesting that Qatar host the Oct. 15 fixture while Iran would host the return match, initially set for next June in Doha. However, the AFC opted to shift the upcoming match to Dubai instead.
The move follows the AFC’s decision to eliminate India’s Mohun Bagan Super Giants from the AFC Champions League Two after the club refused to travel to Iran for a scheduled match against Tractor SC in Tabriz. "Mohun Bagan Super Giant are considered to have withdrawn from the AFC Champions League Two," the AFC said in a statement on Monday.
Additionally, Iranian media reported that Esteghlal FC of Iran has been instructed by the AFC to move its AFC Champions League Elite game against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, originally scheduled for Oct. 22, to a neutral location due to the same security concerns.
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