The Saudi ambassador visited the Naghsh-e Jahan Stadium
Today, Thursday, February 15, 2024, before the football match between Sepahan and Al Hilal, Abdullah bin Saud Al Anzi, the Saudi ambassador, visited the Naghsh-e Jahan Stadium in Isfahan with his accompanying delegation.
According to IRNA news agency, the Saudi ambassador also planted a sapling in the Sepahan Club’s Peace and Friendship Garden.
The Saudi ambassador’s visit to the Naghsh-e Jahan Stadium and the match between Sepahan and Al Hilal takes place four months after the controversy over the cancellation of the Sepahan and Al Ittihad match in the same stadium.
The match between Sepahan Isfahan and Al Ittihad Saudi Arabia on October 2, 2023, was canceled due to the presence of a statue in the Naghsh-e Jahan Stadium and the protests of Al Ittihad players, and the Asian Football Confederation declared the match result as 3-0 in favor of the Saudi team.
Meanwhile, there have been recent reports of the statue being removed from inside the Naghsh-e Jahan Stadium.
A few days ago, the Saudi newspaper Al Riyadiyah headlined a statement from the CEO of Sepahan Club saying, ‘We removed the statue; getting past Al Hilal is difficult,’ but shortly after, Manouchehr Nikfar, the CEO of Sepahan Club, denied any interviews with foreign media in a conversation with Tasnim.