Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will not fine or penalise Mohun Bagan Super Giant for their withdrawal from the AFC Champions League 2, the confederation announced on Saturday.
Mohun Bagan SG had pulled out of their AFC Champions League 2 away game against Tractor FC of Iran, scheduled for October 2, citing the “safety and security” of players.
The Mohun Bagan players refused to travel to Iran last month due to the volatile situation in West Asia, with Iran and Israel involved in a shadow war.
The Kolkata-based club, in a press release, stated that the AFC Competitions Committee decided to recognise the matters raised as an Event of Force Majeure (an unforeseen event).
However, Mohun Bagan SG will stay withdrawn from the league according to clauses 5.5 and 5.6 of the AFC Champions League 2 Competition Regulations, which states, “In the event that a Participating Club withdraws from the Competition, whether before or after commencement of the Competition (as applicable), the Competition shall continue with the remaining Participating Clubs and Matches without any replacement.”
“Any Participating Club that withdraws from the Competition after it has commenced shall have all its Matches cancelled and considered null and void. No points and goals in those Matches shall be taken into consideration when determining the final rankings in a group,” stated clause 5.6.
As per clause 5.7 of the AFC Champions League 2 Competition Regulations, Mohun Bagan will not be penalised.
“Where any Participating Club fails to comply with Article 5.1 and withdraws from the Competition at any stage, the case shall be referred to the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee,” the clause stated.
While withdrawing the club from their game against Tractor FC, Mohun Bagan cited the advisory of the Indian foreign ministry, urging Indians not to travel to West Asia due to the risk involved there.
Comments are closed.