PLDC - The Asian Football Confederation has reportedly punished Sepahan with a 0-3 loss in a match with Al-Ittihad that was canceled in early October.
The game between Sepahan and Al Ittihad was scheduled to take place on October 2 at Naghsh-e Jahan Stadium. However, it was canceled after the Saudi club decided to leave the stadium. Later, reports indicated that the team left the stadium after being allowed to do so by AFC officials. The officials had reportedly asked the Iranian club to remove the busts of General Soleimani from where they were located with the club refraining from doing so.
In recent weeks, there has been much speculation about the outcome of this match.
Unofficial sources now report that a severe disciplinary punishment has been imposed on Sepahan. According to the sources cited by Iranian media, the AFC disciplinary committee declared Sepahan a 3-0 loser. Additionally, Sepahan club has been fined $200,000 and will have to play three games outside their home stadium.
Officials from Sepahan club insist that the AFC supervisors did not request any changes to be made at the stadium. They state that the training session for the Saudi team the day before the match took place at the stadium without any issues.
Furthermore, they emphasize that the pre-match coordination meeting went smoothly, and all relevant matters were considered. They have documents with the signatures of all attendees as evidence.
On the other hand, officials from the Saudi club have repeatedly stated that they were not given permission by the AFC supervisor to enter the field after the match was not held.
Earlier, the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) and Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) reportedly submitted the application to repeat the canceled match as even the foreign ministers of the two states had discussed the issue.