{"id":39695,"date":"2023-10-03T11:05:58","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T08:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/riyadh\/en\/?p=39695"},"modified":"2023-10-03T11:06:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T08:06:00","slug":"al-ittihads-match-against-irans-sepahan-was-cancelled-due-to-political-propaganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/riyadh\/en\/latest\/al-ittihads-match-against-irans-sepahan-was-cancelled-due-to-political-propaganda\/","title":{"rendered":"Al Ittihad&#8217;s Match Against Iran&#8217;s Sepahan Was Cancelled Due To Political Propaganda"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Al Ittihad&#8217;s players were seen leaving Naghsh-e-Jahan Stadium in Isfahan, before their AFC Championship match against Sepahan. Political banners and busts of the late Revolutionary Guard warlord Qassem Soleimani caused quite the controversy on the field.<\/p>\n<h2>The Iranian team refused to take down the political images, causing the match to get cancelled<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">NEW &#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Saudi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Saudi<\/a> football team <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ittihad?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ittihad<\/a> were meant to play Isfahan in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a> tonight &#8212; but organizers placed a bust of Qassem <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Soleimani?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Soleimani<\/a> at the entrance, where the players would run out onto the pitch.<\/p>\n<p>Ittihad have left the stadium in protest, refusing to play. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tgqUAaqDbO\">pic.twitter.com\/tgqUAaqDbO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Charles_Lister\/status\/1708883299865711059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Ittihad was set to play against Sepahan for this seasons AFC Championships, but decided to cancel and leave the match to head back home.<\/p>\n<div style='clear:both;'><\/div>\n<p><!--infeed--><\/p>\n<h2>Fans in the stands were also protesting Iran&#8217;s misconduct of bringing propaganda on the field<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n<p>Sepahan fans are angry at the way team officials placed political figures on the field, chanting :<\/p>\n<p>We don&#8217;t want football with politics<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf7<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ACL2023?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ACL2023<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AlIttihad?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#AlIttihad<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Sepahan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Sepahan<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SEPITH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SEPITH<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Saudi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Saudi<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ITTIHAD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ITTIHAD<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AF_%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u0627\u0644\u0627\u062a\u062d\u0627\u062f_\u0633\u0628\u0627\u0647\u0627\u0646<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u0627\u064a\u0631\u0627\u0646<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u0627\u0644\u0633\u0639\u0648\u062f\u064a\u0629<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cGP9D5cEZx\">pic.twitter.com\/cGP9D5cEZx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 FAISAL RSL (@SaudiPLf) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SaudiPLf\/status\/1708903668840296838?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Qassem Soleimani\u00a0was viewed by many as a &#8220;selfless hero fighting Iran&#8217;s enemies,&#8221; but also a &#8220;murderer&#8221; by others. He was was personally sanctioned by the United Nations and European Union, and was designated as a terrorist by the United States in 2005.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Al Ittihad&#8217;s players were seen leaving Naghsh-e-Jahan Stadium in Isfahan, before their AFC Championship match against Sepahan. Political banners and busts of the late Revolutionary Guard warlord Qassem Soleimani caused quite the controversy on the field. The Iranian team refused to take down the political images, causing the match to get cancelled NEW &#8212; #Saudi &hellip; ","protected":false},"author":3766,"featured_media":39696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,419,43],"tags":[3663,3664,3662,3665,3660,3661],"acf":{"hide_featured_image":false,"featured_image":{"ID":39696,"id":39696,"title":"feature images saudi cities","filename":"feature-images-saudi-cities-3.png","filesize":570472,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.lovin.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2023\/10\/03105859\/feature-images-saudi-cities-3.png","link":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/riyadh\/en\/latest\/al-ittihads-match-against-irans-sepahan-was-cancelled-due-to-political-propaganda\/attachment\/feature-images-saudi-cities-93\/","alt":"","author":"3766","description":"","caption":"","name":"feature-images-saudi-cities-93","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":39695,"date":"2023-10-03 07:58:59","modified":"2023-10-03 07:58:59","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/riyadh\/en\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":800,"height":400,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cdn.lovin.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2023\/10\/03105859\/feature-images-saudi-cities-3-small.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cdn.lovin.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2023\/10\/03105859\/feature-images-saudi-cities-3-medium.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cdn.lovin.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2023\/10\/03105859\/feature-images-saudi-cities-3-768x384.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":384,"large":"https:\/\/cdn.lovin.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2023\/10\/03105859\/feature-images-saudi-cities-3-large.png","large-width":800,"large-height":400,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cdn.lovin.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2023\/10\/03105859\/feature-images-saudi-cities-3.png","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":400,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cdn.lovin.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2023\/10\/03105859\/feature-images-saudi-cities-3.png","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":400,"small":"https:\/\/cdn.lovin.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2023\/10\/03105859\/feature-images-saudi-cities-3-230x115.png","small-width":120,"small-height":60,"custom-size":"https:\/\/cdn.lovin.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2023\/10\/03105859\/feature-images-saudi-cities-3.png","custom-size-width":400,"custom-size-height":200}},"featured_image_caption":"","ad_square_right":"","summary":"","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text_block","content":"<p>Al Ittihad&#8217;s players were seen leaving Naghsh-e-Jahan Stadium in Isfahan, before their AFC Championship match against Sepahan. Political banners and busts of the late Revolutionary Guard warlord Qassem Soleimani caused quite the controversy on the field.<\/p>\n<h2>The Iranian team refused to take down the political images, causing the match to get cancelled<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">NEW &#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Saudi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Saudi<\/a> football team <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ittihad?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ittihad<\/a> were meant to play Isfahan in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a> tonight &#8212; but organizers placed a bust of Qassem <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Soleimani?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Soleimani<\/a> at the entrance, where the players would run out onto the pitch.<\/p>\n<p>Ittihad have left the stadium in protest, refusing to play. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tgqUAaqDbO\">pic.twitter.com\/tgqUAaqDbO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Charles_Lister\/status\/1708883299865711059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Ittihad was set to play against Sepahan for this seasons AFC Championships, but decided to cancel and leave the match to head back home.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_block","content":"<h2>Fans in the stands were also protesting Iran&#8217;s misconduct of bringing propaganda on the field<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n<p>Sepahan fans are angry at the way team officials placed political figures on the field, chanting :<\/p>\n<p>We don&#8217;t want football with politics<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf7<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ACL2023?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ACL2023<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AlIttihad?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#AlIttihad<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Sepahan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Sepahan<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SEPITH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SEPITH<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Saudi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Saudi<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ITTIHAD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ITTIHAD<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AF_%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u0627\u0644\u0627\u062a\u062d\u0627\u062f_\u0633\u0628\u0627\u0647\u0627\u0646<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u0627\u064a\u0631\u0627\u0646<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u0627\u0644\u0633\u0639\u0648\u062f\u064a\u0629<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cGP9D5cEZx\">pic.twitter.com\/cGP9D5cEZx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 FAISAL RSL (@SaudiPLf) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SaudiPLf\/status\/1708903668840296838?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Qassem Soleimani\u00a0was viewed by many as a &#8220;selfless hero fighting Iran&#8217;s enemies,&#8221; but also a &#8220;murderer&#8221; by others. He was was personally sanctioned by the United Nations and European Union, and was designated as a terrorist by the United States in 2005.<\/p>\n"}],"legacy_image":"","legacy_full_image":"","type_of_video":"Self Hosted","lovin_video_link":false,"lovin_video_link_webm":false,"video_thumbnail":false,"disable_ads":false,"slots_script_override":"","ad_horizontal_top_desktop":"","ad_vertical_left_desktop":"","ad_vertical_right_desktop":"","ad_horizontal_top_tablet":"","ad_horizontal_bottom_tablet":"","ad_horizontal_mobile_1":"","ad_horizontal_mobile_2":"","ad_horizontal_mobile_3":"","article_ad_infeed_slot":"","ad_square_podcast":"","disable_lovin_hearts":false,"lovin_heart_title":"","show_sponsor":false,"sponsor_image":false,"sponsor_name":"","sponsor_content":"","sponsor_website":"","sponsor_facebook":"","sponsor_twitter":"","sponsor_tiktok":"","sponsor_instagram":"","enable_reveal_feature":false,"reveal_image":false,"legacy_sponsor_name":"","legacy_sponsor_website":"","legacy_sponsor_content":"","legacy_sponsor_image":"","featured_for_app":false,"legacy_meta_tags":"","is_guest_user":false,"episode_number":"","embed_code":"","episode_introduction":""},"image_feature":"https:\/\/cdn.lovin.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2023\/10\/03105859\/feature-images-saudi-cities-3-small.png","author_name":"Hera Shabbir","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/riyadh\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39695"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/riyadh\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/riyadh\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/riyadh\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3766"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/riyadh\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/riyadh\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/riyadh\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/riyadh\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/riyadh\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/riyadh\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}