Asian Football Federation Bans Games In Iran, IFF responds

Iran's Football (soccer) Federation has confirmed receiving an official letter from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) banning the country from hosting international soccer matches.

"The Islamic Republic Football Federation (IFF) has received an official letter from the AFC that said it had decided to hold the future Asian Soccer League Championship hosted by Iran in 'neutral' countries," the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)-run Tasnim news agency reported on Friday, January 17.

Based on the Tasnim report, all IFF authorities related to the case immediately held a session to decide upon a proper response to the AFC "unwarranted" ban.

Rejecting the ban, the IFF has insisted that Iran is fit to host international soccer matches.

"Iran is fully ready to host various teams as it has repeatedly proven during the past several years," Amirmahdi Alavi, a spokesman for the IFF, told local news outlets.

Iran's federation, which has four teams (Esteqlal, Perspolis, Sepahan, and Shahr Khodro) in the Asian Champions League, said it would meet with AFC officials to express its opposition to the decision.

The Iranian clubs' official response to the ban would be announced soon on the IFF website, Tasnim reported.