March 15, 2024
Sepahan, the Esfahan soccer club, removed three busts of the late Gen. Qasem Soleymani before playing a match against Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia. The Asian Football Confederation had demanded they be removed as violations of the international soccer rules against political or racial indicators in stadiums holding international matches.
Al-Hillal won 3-1. The Saudi team Ittihad walked out of the stadium last year when they saw the busts and the AFC awarded Ittihad a 3-0 victory.
