Mohun Bagan Super Giant have left it to the players to decide if they would want to travel to Iran for the AFC Champions League 2 (ACL 2) match against Sepahan SC on September 30.
The match will be played in Isfahan, around 440 km south of Tehran.
Some players have voiced their reservations about travelling to Iran and Bagan are in discussion with them. A decision on whether Bagan would travel to Iran or not will be taken only after that. Bagan will respect the player’s call, if anyone pulls out of the match.
There were doubts about foreigners — Tom Aldred, Dimitri Petratos, Jamie Maclaren and Jason Cummings — as nationals from the UK and Australia have strict restrictions on travelling to Iran.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has told Bagan that there is no security problem in Iran.
Bagan, in turn, wanted to know from the AFC on what basis it was saying that Iran would be safe to travel to, given the prolonged tension in the West Asia region.
The AFC reply was to Bagan’s email, where the team wanted the football’s apex body in the continent to address their security concerns.
AFC’s stance on matches in Iran means that it has turned down Bagan’s request for a neutral venue.
If Bagan fail to turn up for the match, it could result in severe sanctions and jeopardise the future participation of Indian clubs in ACL 2.
Last year, Bagan decided to forgo the ACL 2 match against Tractor FC in Iran. The AFC, however, did not impose any fine or penalise the club.