*This content was translated by AI.
A surprise U.S.-Israel airstrike killed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, sending the soccer community into chaos. The schedule for major Asian matches in West Asia, including Cristiano Ronaldo's (41) Al Nasr, has been postponed due to the worsening situation in the Middle East.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) officially announced in an official statement on the 1st (Korea Standard Time) that "the schedule for the West Asian club competition will be postponed until further notice for the safety of players and fans in consideration of the rapidly changing security situation after the U.S.-Israel military intervention."
In addition, AFC said in an official statement, "We are monitoring the rapid development in the Middle East very closely," adding, "This is a measure to ensure the safety and security of all players, teams, officials, and fans."
Following the death of Khamenei, all the first-round matches of the 2025-2026 AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) round of 16 were subject to rescheduling.
The schedule of Ronaldo's team, Al Nasr, was also directly hit. Al Nasr was scheduled to play the first leg of the AFC Champions League 2 (ACL2) quarterfinals against Al Wasl of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 1 a.m. on the 5th, but the emergency measures postponed the schedule.
"The decision to postpone has a huge impact on the tournament of major intercontinental tournaments involving clubs in West Asia," sports media "One Football" said. "Not only the round of 16 ACLE, but also the first round of the quarterfinals between ACL2 and AFC Challenge League scheduled for March 3 and 4 were temporarily suspended."
All of West Asia's big matches, including Al Nasr's match and the first leg of the round of 16 ACLE, in which Saudi Arabia's powerhouse Al Ahli and Qatar's Al Duhail were to face off, were subject to postponement.
On the other hand, club competition activities in East Asia, which are out of the sphere of influence of this incident, remain normal. AFC stated, "All games involving teams from East Asian leagues such as South Korea, Japan, and Australia will proceed smoothly according to the previously established schedule."
The new game schedule in West Asia will be released again on the AFC's official website in the future as the situation stabilizes.
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
