War is always a tragedy for everyone involved, with consequences that go far beyond sports and impact the most important thing: human lives. However, it’s important to highlight the challenges this conflict brings in other areas as well, and in this case, soccer could suffer.
Tensions in the Middle East have reached a boiling point after Iran’s bombing of Israel and the latter’s threat to respond severely to the attack. While countries worldwide are issuing warnings, the parties involved don’t seem to heed them.
Beyond the potential global consequences of a military escalation between the two sides, there is great uncertainty about what could happen in the sports world in the coming weeks.
For now, a match scheduled for October 1 in the Israeli Premier League between Beitar Jerusalem and Maccabi Haifa has been postponed due to recent events.
The upcoming round of the league features seven matches scheduled between Saturday and Sunday, though no updates have been given about their status.
The Israel Football Association has acted as if things were normal, publishing the list of players called up for their upcoming international matches. The national team is set to play against France and Italy in the Nations League, although the match against France will take place in Budapest.
Al Nassr to Play the Asian Champions League in Tehran
One team affected by the situation could be Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo‘s team, which is scheduled to play against Esteghlal on October 22 as part of the third round of the Asian Champions League. This match is supposed to be held in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
MARCA has learned that the Saudi team is refusing to travel there. Given Israel’s threats, Tehran could be one of the most dangerous cities in the region, and Al Nassr does not want to risk their players’ safety.
Normalcy from Iran’s Perspective
Meanwhile, Iran remains unfazed in terms of soccer, and its clubs have not been affected by the war.
Matches continue to be played in their stadiums, and competitions are proceeding as usual. In fact, several Asian Champions League and Asian Champions League 2 matches have been played recently.
Picture from the Sepehan match, which showed the missiles launched at Israel
For example, Persepolis, also based in Tehran, played on Monday at home against Pakhtakor from Uzbekistan. Similarly, Sepahan played on Tuesday in Isfahan. During the match, missiles launched toward Israel could be seen in the sky, but the game continued uninterrupted.
The Iranian Football Federation is trying to maintain calm and continue as if nothing is happening. The national team also has upcoming matches, including a game against Qatar on October 15.
Regarding the Iranian Premier League, matches are set to resume tomorrow (Friday), and no changes or cancellations have been announced. However, with Al Nassr’s reaction, it seems that soccer may not be able to stay unaffected by the ongoing conflict.
