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Saudi-Iran Asian Champions League Game Canceled in Row over Soleimani Statue
(Al Jazeera) A soccer match between Saudi and Iranian teams in the Asian Champions League has been called off due to the presence of a statue of former Iranian Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani at the entrance to the field. The game Monday between Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad and Iran's Sepahan was postponed after the Saudi team refused to leave the dressing room at the stadium in the Iranian city of Isfahan. Soleimani - who commanded the foreign operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - played a central role in directing Iran's activities across the Middle East for several decades before being assassinated by a U.S. air strike in January 2020. A bust of Soleimani was placed at the entrance of the soccer pitch, prominently displayed before players who would have exited the tunnel onto the field.