KUALA LUMPUR: Indian club Mohun Bagan Super Giant are out of the AFC Champions League Two (ACL 2) after not travelling to Iran for a group stage match against Tabriz-based Tractor SC scheduled for Oct. 2, the day after Iran launched ballistic missiles towards Israel.
The club's matches in the competition are now null and void with the club "considered to have withdrawn," the Asian Football Confederation said in a statement on Monday.
Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Oct. 1, with Israel vowing to retaliate.
Indian media reported that several Mohun Bagan players wrote to the management voicing concerns over security if they travelled to Tractor's home city in northwestern Iran, which was one of the sites from where the missiles were launched.
The AFC said it would refer Mohun Bagan's matter to the continental body's relevant committees for further decisions. - Reuters