Mohun Bagan's Campaign In ACL-2 Ends Even Before Completing Their Scheduled League Fixtures

Hyderabad: For the second consecutive time, Mohun Bagan Supergiants refused to play in Iran for the Champions League-2 match due to security concerns. Following the club’s refusal, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has made a significant announcement. The governing body of Asian football has declared the match of Kolkata Giants against Ahal FK in the first match void in accordance with Article 5.6 of the competition.

Mohun Bagan was scheduled to play the second match of the ongoing AFC Champions League-2 against Iran's Sepahan SC on September 30. But the Australian players in the squad refused to go to play the match in Isfahan, citing the guidelines issued by the government of that country regarding travel to Iran. There was a possibility of taking domestic footballers with them due to the foreign footballers' refusal, but it did not materialise. The club has now approached the Court of Arbitration to find a solution.

However, before CAS could respond, the AFC announced its decision. Jose Molina was supposed to hold a press conference the day before the Sepahan match, as per tradition. But Mohun Bagan did not attend the pre-match press conference as they were not travelling to the country. That is why last season's ISL Shield and Cup winners were deemed to have withdrawn from the competition by Asian football's governing body.

In a statement on Tuesday morning, the AFC wrote, "In accordance with Article 5.2 of the AFC Champions League-2 2025-26 Competition, the Asian Football Confederation confirms that Mohun Bagan Super Giants have withdrawn from the competition. They were supposed to report to Isfahan before the Sepahan SC match on September 30, 2025, but they did not do so."

The AFC has said that Mohun Bagan's last match will be considered void as a result of the competition's Article 5.6. They have also clarified that no goals or points scored by Mohun Bagan in the last match will be taken into account in determining the final position in Group C, as per Article 8.3 of the tournament.

Mohun Bagan initially faced visa problems while playing in Iran. Mohun Bagan Super Giant management had requested the AFC to change the venue to resolve the issue. But the AFC rejected that demand. Although visas were granted to Mohun Bagan's foreign footballers at the initiative of Sepahan SC, Jamie McLaren and Jason Cummings refused to travel to Iran due to security reasons. Last year, the green and maroon teams refused to go to Iran to play against Tractor FC in wartime conditions. Now it remains to be seen whether any action will be taken against Mohun Bagan as the same incident is repeated.