Iran, Saudi Arabia agree to resolve sports dispute

ISTANBUL

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Thursday to push for a resolution to the dispute between Iran’s Sepahan club and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad.

The Asian Champions League (AFC) match was scheduled to take place on Monday at the Naqsh-e Jahan stadium in Iran's Isfahan city.

Unconfirmed reports said that the football match was canceled due to the presence of a statue of former Iranian general Qassem Soleimani inside the stadium.

In a phone call, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan, agreed "to direct the sports institutions in the two countries to resolve the recent issue that arose during a match between the two clubs,” according to the Iranian official news agency, IRNA.

The two officials directed that the two sides work on a solution “through mutual respect, dialogue and understanding, within the framework of enhancing cultural and sports cooperation.”

The Saudi Foreign Minister also “invited his Iranian counterpart to attend the first upcoming football match between the two countries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

Iran’s Sepahan football club said the match was called off by the referee, saying they would lodge a complaint with the AFC. Al-Ittihad club, meanwhile, said the AFC observer decided to cancel the game.

The AFC said the match was canceled due to “unanticipated” and “unforeseen circumstances,” adding that the issue would be referred to the relevant committees.

Saudi Arabia's star-studded Al-Nassr football club played last month against Iran's Persepolis at Tehran's Azadi Stadium, which the Saudi team won 2-0.

Saudi football clubs have been visiting Iran in recent months after several years, marking a de-escalation of tensions between the two countries.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi