Mohun Bagan refuses to travel to Iran, to be considered withdrawn from ACL

Mohun Bagan Super Giant are considered to have withdrawn from the AFC Champions League 2 after the Kolkata side decided against travelling to Iran to face Tractor FC, the continental body AFC said on Monday, pending further decision on the matter.

Keeping their players' "safety and security" in mind, Mohun Bagan Super Giant had last month decided against travelling to Iran for the October 2 match owing to the volatile situation that prevailed in the west Asian nation at that 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the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirms that India's Mohun Bagan Super Giant are considered to have withdrawn from the ACL 2 competition after the club failed to report to Tabriz ...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 AFC said.

"Consequently, all matches played by Mohun Bagan SG are cancelled and considered null and void in accordance with Article 5.6 of Competition Regulations. For the avoidance of doubt, no points and goals in the club's matches shall be taken into consideration when determining the final rankings in Group A pursuant to Article 8.3 of the Competition Regulations."

Mohun Bagan SG were to play Tractor FC on October 2 in their Group A match of the ACL 2 -- the continent's second tier club competition -- but their players expressed unwillingness to play in Iran, which had announced a state of mourning following the death of a prominent general of the Revolutionary Guard 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 said in the statement.

In their first match of Group A, Mohun Bagan had played out a goalless draw against Tajikistan's FC Ravshan.

It was learnt that 35 registered players, including seven foreigners, wrote to the club that they didn't wish to go to Iran at that point in time.

"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 had told PTI.

"We have decided to not travel to Iran keeping our players' safety and security in mind, because that is paramount. We have also written to the ministry of external affairs as their advisory states that you can go to Iran or Israel on your own responsibility.