Mohun Bagan Super Giant will seek legal action to protest its withdrawal from the Asian Champions League Two as soon as it obtains official confirmation from the governing body. Mohun Bagan’s Champions League 2 encounter against Iranian first league team Tractor FC was slated for October 2 at Iran’s Yadegar-e-Emam Stadium. Tensions between Iran and Israel intensified after Hezbollah chairman Hassan Nasrallah was murdered by Israeli defense forces, prompting Iran to launch missiles at Israel two days before the game. As a result, Mohun Bagan’s players wrote to the club and the All India Football Federation, expressing their decision not to travel to the nation for security reasons.
The AFC declared that the Mariners were considered withdrawn from the competition for failing to show up for the match. The AFC stated that all Mohun Bagan Super Giant matches are cancelled in accordance with Article 5.6 of the Competition Regulations. To be clear, no points or goals from the club’s matches will be used when determining the final standings in Group A under Article 8.3 of the Competition Regulations. Mohun Bagan, which qualified for ACL 2 as the Indian Super League shield champion, played its first match of the tournament on September 18 against Turkmenistan’s Ravshan Kulob, which finished goalless. It was planned to play four more group-stage games, with the exception of the away game against Tractor, which has now been canceled.
