Al-Ittihad's Asian Championship match against Iran's Sepahan was canceled on Monday after the Saudi Arabian team refused to leave their dressing room.
The Saudi Arabian team, led by former Wolves and Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo and featuring star players N'Golo Kante and Fabinho, protested against the installation of a statue of an Iranian general who was assassinated at the entrance to the mainland.
About 60,000 fans were present at Naghsh-e Jahn Stadium in Isfahan, Iran, to wait for the match to start. Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have meant that matches between the two countries' clubs have previously been played on neutral territory since 2016 due to security concerns. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said the match was "canceled due to force majeure and unforeseen circumstances".
“AFC reiterates its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of players, match officials, spectators, and all stakeholders,” the organization said in a statement. “This matter will now be referred to the relevant committees."
The statue is of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani. He was killed near Baghdad airport in a US drone strike in January 2020. Saudi Arabia designated Soleimani and other senior commanders of the Quds Force, the overseas operations force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, as terrorists in 2018.
The Saudis blamed Soleimani for Iran's regional activities and accused it of attacks on Gulf shipping lanes, on Saudi oil facilities, and of supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen who have attacked Saudi cities. Iran has denied this.
This season sees the return of Saudi Arabian clubs to Iran for the first time since 2016, when an Iranian extremist militia group called the Basij, part of the Revolutionary Guards of Islam, attacked the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran.
Ngolo Kante, Benzema and Fabinho
After that, Saudi Arabia's teams refused to go to Iran to participate in an international sports tournament, citing safety concerns.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr was the first Saudi team to play in Iran this season when they beat Persepolis last month in an Asian Champions League match.
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