RIYADH: Uncertainty surrounds Al-Nassr’s second-round AFC Champions League clash against Tractor on Tuesday after the Iranian club announced that it was unable to field the required number of players.
Tractor officials have recently written twice to the Asian Football Confederation to report a number of absences from the squad list submitted earlier this month.
Forwards Mohammed Abbaszadeh and Ali Fathi are injured as is midfielder Mohammed Khorram. Peyman Babaei is suspended, Sayad Kokabi has terminated his contract, and two more players have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), leaving the team looking very thin indeed.
In the first communication with the AFC, Tractor asked that the game be postponed. In a second letter, there was a request to be allowed to register late replacements from the youth team.
Club chief executive officer, Jamshid Nazmi, said that Tractor would do all it could to participate in the game, due to be held in Qatar.
“On Thursday, I attended the meeting of the Supreme Sports Council and examined the problems and looked at solutions necessary for the team to be present in Qatar.
“Although it is necessary for Tractor to replace the new members of the youth team even if the AFC does not agree with our request, we will go to Qatar under any circumstances to play in the match,” Nazmi added.
However, the competition’s regulations state that “if a participating club fails to register a minimum of 18 participating players by the stipulated deadline, it shall be considered to have withdrawn from the competition prior to its commencement.”
Clubs are allowed to call up replacements in the knockout stage, but the rules also state that this should be done no later than seven days before the game.
Tractor will be hoping that the organization shows some leniency given the COVID-19 pandemic, and a decision is expected soon.
But the AFC has been ruthless in the past. In last year’s edition, Al-Hilal was hit by a COVID-19 outbreak and could not field a full squad in the final group game. Despite already having booked a place in the knockout stage the defending champions were forced to withdraw.
Due to the pandemic, this year’s Round of 16 has been reduced from its usual two-legged format to a single elimination game.
Al-Nassr, led by Brazilian coach Mano Menezes, topped a difficult group to progress to the second round and has won two out of three games so far in the current Saudi Professional League season.
If the games goes ahead, Al-Nassr will be without star striker Abderrazak Hamdallah who is suspended along with Ali Lajami and Abdullah Madu.
Al-Nassr is joined in the second round by Saudi Arabian rivals Al-Hilal who will also take on Iranian opposition in the form of Esteghlal, in Dubai. Elsewhere, Istiklol of Tajikistan play Iran’s Persepolis with Sharjah hosting Al-Wahda in an all-UAE affair.
