One of the more fascinating stories this past week involves two unlikely rivals: Kuala Lumpur and Tehran.
After the Ukrainian Airplane disaster, the Islamic Republic of Iran is in turmoil. Protesters flooded the streets while international pressure kept rising, demanding Iran to conduct a transparent investigation and collaborate with other countries on the matter.
As always, whatever happens in the Middle East finds its expression in football. Since the plane crash and the death of 176 passengers, rumours about the impact of the events on the football spread rapidly.
First, Iranian media reported that the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) has sent a letter that two forthcoming games in the 2020 AFC Champions League qualifications must be moved to neutral grounds. The games affected are those between Esteghlal Tehran and Kuwait SC, and Shahr Khodro (with a newly appointed coach, Stefano Cusin) and Riffa from Bahrain. It was rumoured that the Kuwaiti club was the one demanding the change, claiming it was ‘unsafe' to play under the current political climate.
The thought of Iran suffering from the same fate as neighbouring Iraq was driving the Iranian fans crazy. To remind you, Iraq’s right to host football matches on home soil is being constantly granted and revoked year-in-year-out. The presidents of Iranian football clubs Esteghlal, Shahr Khodrou, Sepahan and Persepolis threatened to withdraw from the competition immediately if Iran's hosting rights will be taken away.
The only one who did not respond publicly to the matter was…you guessed it: The AFC itself.
Until the match-day itself, January 21st, the AFC hasn't released a solid decision in the saga, but rather decided to postpone both matches. While many speculations and conspiracy theories were brought up across the Gulf countries, the AFC has finally released a statement last Thursday. Both Champions League qualification matches that were supposed to take place in Mashhad and Tehran have been rescheduled to Saturday the 25th to take place at Sharjah (Shahr's game) and Dubai (Esteghlal's match) in the United Arab Emirates.
Furthermore, in an official letter to the media the AFC has indicated that Iranian teams won't be able to host games until match-day 4 of the group stage, when a 'security reassessment' will be conducted.
Meanwhile, Persepolis has released a statement that it was thanks to their club management that Iranian teams did not lose their entire ability to host. Feeling confused? That's alright, you are not alone. Everyone following this story or involved at it are just as confused.
If Iranian teams won't host games, or worse - even withdraw from the AFC Champions League, it will be a colossal disaster to the competition. Esteghlal and Persepolis have two of Asia's best sets of fans, which are seen as an income source for the confederation. This danger now seems to be forgotten, time will tell what the AFC plans are following match-day 3.
Reabal Dahamshe and Palestine Write History
Palestine’s national team is playing the Bangabandhu Gold Cup in Bangladesh these days.
The Fidai did not struggle and cruised past Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. As they are about to play the final against Burundi on Saturday (13:00 Jerusalem time), a side-story might be more important than this whole friendly tournament.
In their victory against Bangladesh, a double history was written. On the 90th minute, 17 year-old Reabal Dahamshe substituted Khaled Salem, and at that moment he became not only the youngest to play for the Palestinian national team, but the first to do so while being an active player in an Israeli club. Dahamshe, hailing from Kafr Kanna, plays for the youth team of Hapoel Nof HaGalil of the Israeli second division. So far, the Palestinian FA refused to call-up players who play in the Israeli leagues since it was politically problematic. But things seem to be changing. "The Palestinian FA is obliged to call any player who is eligible to play for the national team, regardless of where they live or play", explained a source in the Palestinian football association.
The Palestinian League and national team are filled with players of Arab descent who hold an Israeli citizenship. Still, until recently only those who were playing their trade in the West Bank Premier League were also able to play for the national team. If this rule is to be changed, the Fidai coaching staff will have quite the headache, as a whole new scope of players will be able to represent Palestine while playing club football in Israel.
A historical step for Palestinian football, if there will be continuity. Reabal Dahamshe (Photo: Palestine FA Facebook Page)
Lebanon Left with a Broken Football Heart
After months of protests and a complete halt of local football, the past week welcomed some sad news for the Lebanese and Middle Eastern football community.
Due to the instability and security circumstances in the country, the Lebanese FA has decided to cancel the rest of of the Lebanese Alpha League 2019/20 season. During the past decade, the Lebanese league has suffered from many hiatuses and suspensions due to internal tensions, and the current climate continues this trend. This disappointing decision comes following two years in which the league has been running without disturbances.
In Jordan, the FA decided to put the local league on hold until the end of March in favour of administrative reform, in Iraq the league is on hold due to the security situation, while in Yemen the league hasn’t been running professionally for over five years due to the ongoing civil war.
Lebanon is another Middle Eastern country whose local competition is cancelled due to external circumstances.