Iran's World Cup Qualifier against Qatar moved to UAE due to security concerns

The FIFA World Cup qualifier between Iran and Qatar has been moved to a neutral venue in the United Arab Emirates due to security concerns, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Thursday.

Iran launched around 180 ballistic missiles at Israel this month. Israel has promised Iran will pay for the attack while Tehran has said any retaliation would be met with vast destruction.

Iran were set to host Asian champions Qatar on Tuesday but the AFC said the decision to change the venue was taken after consultation with FIFA and other relevant stakeholders.

The venue for the game has yet to be decided.

It must be noted that Iran are in second position, seven points, in Group A of the ongoing third round of the qualifiers with two wins and a draw after three matches. Meanwhile, Qatar are fourth after the same number of matches but have three points less than Iran.

The other teams in this group are the United Arab Emirates, North Korea, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Earlier, Indian club Mohun Bagan Super Giant were ousted from the AFC Champions League Two after not travelling to Iran for a group stage match against Tabriz-based Tractor SC scheduled for October 2, the day after Iran launched ballistic missiles towards Israel.

The club's matches in the competition are now null and void with the club "considered to have withdrawn," the Asian Football Confederation said in a statement on Monday.

Indian media reported that several Mohun Bagan players wrote to the management voicing concerns over security if they travelled to Tractor's home city in northwestern Iran, which was one of the sites from where the missiles were launched.

The AFC said it would refer Mohun Bagan's matter to the continental body's relevant committees for further decisions.