“Why did you mention ‘a replay of the cancelled game at some other time’ in your talks with the Saudi foreign minister?” asked Hossein Shariatmadari, the managing editor of Kayhan, in a memo addressing Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad team, who were scheduled to face Iran’s Sepahan as part of AFC Champions League games, reportedly made a last-minute withdrawal from the game due to the presence of a bust of anti-terror Iranian military commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani at the entrance of Naghsh-e Jahan stadium in the central Iranian city of Isfahan.
“If, as evidence shows, the Al-Ittihad team pulled out of the game due to the presence of a bust of martyr Soleimani, not only do they not deserve to take part in a rematch, but also they should, forever, be deprived of being present in Iran and playing against Iranian teams anywhere in the world,” Shairatmadari added.
