The Asian Champions League changes! The local tycoons went on strike, Benzema refused to play, Saudi Arabia called Iran, and the AFC statement
At the same time as the Asian Games, the AFC Champions League also ushered in a new round of group stage, and the West Asian competition started earlier than the East Asian division, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Riyadh Victory and Jeddah United two Saudi tycoons taking the lead. Riyadh triumphed 3-1 at home to Independiente Dushanbe with Cristiano Ronaldo's goal Talisca double, the first goal in the AFC Champions League and the 17th in 16 games in all competitions. It has to be said that the 38-year-old Ronaldo has a second spring in Saudi Arabia.
On the other hand, Jeddah United away against Iranian team Saipahan did not start, and with both starters out, 30 minutes after the start time, there were still no Jeddah United players on the field. The Saipahan players, who had been waiting for a long time in the stadium, were notified by the club, thanked the fans, and returned directly to the dressing room, the match seemed to have ended before the start of the game, and none of the Jeddah United staff members were on the field for these 30 minutes.
Later, according to Saudi media news, there was a statue of an Iranian figure in the home stadium of Saipahan in this match, and the existence of this statue caused great dissatisfaction in Jeddah Union, so the whole team chose to strike, Kanter, Fatnoio and others also refused to play, and Benzema did not enter the squad. Jeddah United warned Saipakhan that they would not appear until the statue was removed, and after not getting satisfactory results, Jeddah United team went straight to the airport to return to Saudi Arabia. In the end, the match was not resulted, and whether it was postponed or directly decided depends on the decision of the AFC.
Such a collective strike is very rare in football, and it is not because of any force majeure factors, and the team and players subjectively abandon the game may be punished by the AFC Champions League official. Soon the AFC issued a statement announcing that the match had been cancelled due to an accident, and the AFC said the practice was also for the safety of players, staff, fans and everyone. Of course, the situation of this match will be referred to the relevant committee for investigation, and it cannot be ruled out that Jeddah Federation will be ruled out as a result.
This practice of incorporating factors other than sports into the game is not supported in any sport, especially a sport that rises to a very high altitude such as football. This time, because of the controversial statue, you can express dissatisfaction and protest in the arena, but it is too undesirable to choose to strike. Jeddah United, despite having a large number of big-name stars, should not enjoy this special treatment, so being defeated 3-0 is the right thing to do, and it is also widely believed by outside fans. Let's wait and see how the AFC handles this.