The Kolkata team’s decision to forego traveling to Iran to play Tractor FC is seen as Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s withdrawal from the AFC Champions League 2.
Mohun Bagan Super Giants are thought to have withdrawn from the AFC Champions League 2 after the Kolkata club decided not to travel to Iran to face Tractor FC, the continental organization AFC announced on Monday, pending further decision on the matter. With their players’ “safety and security” in mind, Mohun Bagan Super Giant opted last month not to travel to Iran for the October 2 encounter due to the turbulent environment in the West Asian nation at the time.
“In accordance with Article 5.2 of AFC Champions League 2 2024/25 Competition Regulations, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirms that India’s Mohun Bagan Super Giant are considered to have withdrawn from the ACL 2 competition after the club failed to report to Tabriz … against Tractor FC on October 2, 2024,” the association said.
“As a result, all Mohun Bagan SG matches are annulled and declared null and void under Article 5.6 of the Competition Regulations.
To be clear, no points or goals scored by the club in its matches shall be used when computing the final rankings in Group A under Article 8.3 of the Competition Regulations.” Mohun Bagan SG were scheduled to play Tractor FC in their Group A match of the ACL 2 (the continent’s second tier club competition) on October 2, but their players expressed a refusal to play in Iran, which had declared a state of mourning following the death of a prominent Revolutionary Guard general in an Israeli air strike.
“The matter will now be referred to the relevant AFC Committee(s) as appropriate for their decision(s),” the AFC stated in its statement.
Mohun Bagan and FC Ravshan of Tajikistan drew 0-0 in their first Group A match.
It was learned that 35 registered players, including seven foreigners, wrote to the club stating that they did not want to travel to Iran at the moment.
“So we tagged their letters and wrote to the AFC, asking them to either reschedule the match or move the game to a neutral venue,” a Mohun Bagan source told PTI.”We made the decision not to travel to Iran in order to ensure the safety and security of our players, which is crucial. We have also written to the Ministry of External Affairs, as their advice indicates that you can travel to Iran or Israel at your own risk.”
