July 24, 2020
In a bizarre turn of events, Tehran’s Persepolis soccer club was awarded a 3-0 win over Sepahan of Esfahan after Sepahan showed up as hour late for the game at its own stadium.
The match was supposed to take place at the Naqsh-e-Jahan Stadium, the home ground of Sepahan, February 23. Perse-polis led the league’s standings with Sepahan in second place, making the game an important one.
According to the Tehran Times, Sepahan informed officials that “fans did not let them leave the team hotel in time.” Because of the coronavirus, games are now being played in empty stadiums, so the Sepahan fans held a big rally with the players before the match.
However, a disciplinary committee of the Iran Football Federation ruled after an investigation that there were “no obstacles” holding up the Sepahan team bus at their hotel.
As a result, the soccer governing body has now awarded a 3-0 win to Persepolis, opening up a 10-point gap between the leaders and Sepahan as Persepolis moves closer to a fourth successive league title.