The AFC Champions League has started with a shameless bias towards the Saudi teams.

Iranian teams have to play their home games abroad as a result of politics. Because Saudi Arabia has broken its diplomatic ties with Iran , its government forcefully told its football federation to not to send any Saudi team to Iran.

Based on that government order, The Saudi FA claimed that the safety of its players is a major concern and cannot be assured in Iran , hence it will refuse to play in Iran and demanded that AFC choose a neutral venue for the matches. AFC willingly and obediently obliged without any due diligence or study into the Saudi claims. The move by AFC denies a typical capacity crowds of 100,000 fans of both Persepolis and Esteghlal from watching their beloved teams in Azadi Stadium and also hurting the Asian football in general.

AFC, in the footstep of FIFA was always strongly opposed to political interference in football , however, it seems that the ruling is selective and applies to certain countries and not all. The AFC President, of course, would not dream of upsetting the brethren in Riyadh.

To make the submissive AFC look even worse , it has also succumbed to the Saudi pressure to play this season’s Champions League matches on Mondays and Tuesdays rather than the midweek days of Tuesday and Wednesdays. The Saudi FA has demanded this change because it best suites the Saudi league schedule. Iran league matches are usually  played on Thursdays, Friday and Saturdays giving them much less time to prepare for the Champions League.

The feeble FFIRI administration has proven time and again that it is not up to the level of responsibility to protect Iran’s football interest. This time is no different from any other time for Mehdi Taj and Kaffashian simply accepting the AFC ruling without strong challenge all the way to CAS.

Persepolis, Esteghlal, Esteghlal Khuzestan and Zob Ahan have to play against the Saudi teams in Neutral grounds.

Not that the Saudi trickery has dome them much good as Esteghlal just smashed the Saudi side Al Taawon 3-0 in Group A in Muscat, Oman on the 2nd round of the ACL. Esteghlal is leading the group on goal difference.

Esteghlal Khuzestan on the other hand, made it two wins out of two in their first appearance in the ACL staying comfortably at the top with 6 points. They beat Al Jazira 1-0 in Abu Dhabi.