Tractor Seriously Threatens to Withdraw from Asia!

Tractor protested the difficulty of travel and of continuing to play away from home, and this was accompanied by an explicit warning from Khodadad Azizi about the possibility of withdrawing from the AFC Champions League Elite.

Khodadad Azizi, the manager of Tractor team, on the sidelines of this team's practice, criticized the travel and hosting conditions in the Asian Elite League, and announced the possibility of Tabrizi's red-faced team withdrawing from this competition.

Ambassador of Arjan-Sports Group: Asian hosting for Tractor these days is tied to distance from Tabriz and long trips. The team, whose home games were held with the presence of a large number of fans, now has to go to another country to hold its match and spend long hours on the way to the place of the game. This time, the protest of the tractor manager has led to a serious warning about continuing to participate in the competition.

Tractor took about 18 hours to reach Oman, while Esteghlal, Iran's other representative in the Asian Elite League, took a direct flight to Doha. This difference in travel conditions was one of the topics of Khodadad Azizi's speech on the sidelines of the tractor training, but the scope of his protest also reached the possibility of hosting in Iran and the role of the Football Federation in pursuing this issue.

The most important part of Azizi's talk was the news of the conversation with Zenozi about continuing to participate in the competitions. Referring to the speeches of the Omani officials and representatives of the Asian Football Confederation, the tractor manager said: "Both the Omani officials and the officer and supervisor of the Asian Football Confederation were present and said that you should ask your federation to follow up on this issue and write a letter." I also told them that we have talked with Mr. Zenozi himself and if the situation is going to be like this, we will no longer participate and withdraw, whatever happens.

This threat to withdraw was raised along with Azizi's request to pay attention to the conditions of both representatives of Iran. Referring to Esteghlal's direct trip, he emphasized the position of this club in Asian football and said: "Sir, how can it be one day before the match, with all due respect, Esteghlali themselves know that I never talk about big teams. He got independence and went straight. I said in the meeting today that we and Esteghlal are the representatives of Iran and we participate in the elite league of Asia. Esteghlal is a proud team in the elite league and everyone knows that, I don't need to say it."

Azizi then brought the issue to the stands of the stadium and the point that Tractor loses by playing outside of Iran. He continued by recalling the presence of fans in last season's matches: "Last year's games, which were held at home, were attended by 80,000 spectators. Which team in the Asian Elite League brings 80,000 people to the stadium to watch its game? I will not comment on the number of tractor fans. Tractor and Esteghlal are among the most proud teams in Asia in terms of spectators and they have a lot of fans at their home games, but we cannot play at home. Why can't we?"

According to the tractor manager, the follow-up of this issue should be done through the football federation. Azizi emphasized that the officials present in Oman have also told the club the same issue, and for action, correspondence from the federation is needed.

Explaining the difficulty of the trip and his request to Iran's football officials, he said: "In the past, it was customary for those who wanted to go to Mecca to travel for three months, but now the dog follows them and... In general, friends in the Iranian Football Federation should follow up on this issue. This was the words of the members of the Asian Football Confederation. We have a video of these conversations, but they told us not to publish it, because this issue is not in their hands and the federation should follow up."

Azizi's final request was to pay attention to the tractor as a representative of Iran. The manager of this team continued with the same tone of protest: "If possible, they should even take a step and maybe this will help the tractor." We are not a special team and we are not the teams you say, but we represent Iran. Take a look at us. We don't expect a special look and we are satisfied with an ordinary look."

The Football Federation announced: Despite Qatar's issuance of an exclusive flight permit for Esteghlal, Oman could not issue an entry permit for Tractor and Golghar's exclusive flight, and these two teams had to travel indirectly.

The Disciplinary Committee of the Football Federation, regarding the violations and misbehavior attributed to Khodadad Azizi, the supervisor of Tractor, asked him to present his defense. This case was established after the meeting between Tractor and Golgohar and the release of Khodadad's audio file.

To host its Asian rivals in the new season of the Elite League, Tractor introduced Oman as the host option; A decision that will send the Tabrizi Reds to Oman after the approvals of the Asian Football Confederation are finalized.