Iran to Saudi: Don’t politicize football
Iran has advised Saudi Arabia against politicizing sports activities involving the two countries.
“Unfortunately, some Saudi authorities are trying to extend the policy of creating tensions to the area of sports, which is wrong behavior,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, an Iranian deputy foreign minister, said on Sunday.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) recently asked the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) that matches between the countries’ teams take place in a third country.
In making the request, the SAFF has alleged that the matches could be affected by potential insecurity in the Islamic Republic.
Amir-Abdollahian called the excuse a “lame” one, asserting that the Islamic Republic is one of the safest countries in the region. “We insist that AFC Champions League matches take place in the Islamic Republic.”
The AFC has given the two sides until March 15 to resolve the matter.
Amir-Abdollahian said Iran is to communicate its readiness to safely host the games in its different cities to the Confederation.
“It is obvious that the games would be held on a two-legged basis in the two countries.”
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran on January 3 following demonstrations held in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad by angry protesters censuring the Al Saud family for the execution of prominent cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
Some people mounted the walls of the consulate in Mashhad while incendiary devices were hurled at the embassy in Tehran. Some 100 people were detained over the acts of transgression. Iranian officials have strongly condemned the attacks.
The international community has voiced outrage against the execution of the spiritual leader, who used to be a vocal critic of the kingdom’s policies.
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