Mehdi Taj however said that Iran would have a weapon on its disposal which is to file official lawsuits with AFC (Asian Football Confederation) against Saudi Arabian football clubs, since politics should not be mingled with football and determine the fate of sports events. “Recently, Saudi teams have announced they would not travel to Iran to play against country’s football clubs; they also have called teams of other countries to follow suit; Articles 3 and 4 of AFC assert that political issues should not be extended to football; this is not for the first time that Saudis take pretexts of this sort on their unethical pursuits. They had once put up the propaganda before in match with Foulad of Ahvaz in Asian Champions League during dubious mineral water bottles,” Taj asserted.
“They usually invest huge amounts in Asian Champions League and it is inevitable that they would not spare any means possible to find their favor; a favorite method is seeking pretexts and resorting to behaviors utterly unethical and non-athletic; we recommend them to wisely avoid involvement in their country’s politics and think only to football,” was his proposal to Saudis. “If they continue to take such pretexts, we would consider filing lawsuits to AFC, and now the IFC is in the process of preparing an official letter communicating the antics of Saudi Arabian football clubs.”
Taj also threatened that Iran’s football authorities would firmly stand against such despicable acts. “The best response is to play strong football on the field and to defeat Saudis on their own ground,” he emphasized.
“Many great teams have come to Iran and played and admitted that our fields and stadiums are highly secure and standard; Saudis’ pretexts are quite political; they should think only to football. Such measures are condemned and should be avoided,” he concluded.
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