Why did Ronaldo and Al Nassr refuse to go to Iran, the match had to be moved to Dubai?

Ronaldo and his famous teammates such as Sadio Mane, Aymeric Laporte and Marcelo Brozovic, have confirmed that they will not travel to Iran to play the third match of the AFC Champions League against Esteghlal FC at 11pm on October 22, due to safety concerns.

Ronaldo has convinced the AFC to change the venue of Al Nassr Club

"Concerns have been growing within Al Nassr recently. It is clearly seen as a high-risk trip and there have been concerns among high-profile players, especially about what could happen in the current escalating conflict in the Middle East. Ronaldo and his teammates have firmly refused to travel to Iran to play," AS reported.

For this reason, Al Nassr Club has asked the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to move the match against Esteghlal FC to a neutral venue. Finally, this request has just been officially accepted by the AFC, helping Ronaldo and his teammates avoid an awkward situation.

Accordingly, the match between Al Nassr and Esteghlal FC will take place at the same time as scheduled, but will be played on a neutral ground in Dubai, UAE. This is the first option. In case it is not possible to play in the UAE, other options such as Oman or Qatar are being considered, according to AS .

For the same reason, the Iranian team competing in the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers, is currently looking for a neutral venue to play against Qatar at 11pm on October 15. Dubai is also the preferred venue for the Iranian team that has been chosen to play. In another case, the two teams may decide to change the order of the matches and play the first leg in Qatar, then the return leg in Iran in June 2025.

Ronaldo is concerned about safety when traveling to Iran at this time.

Before meeting Qatar, Iran will have an away match against Uzbekistan at 9:00 p.m. on October 10.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo has now returned to the Portuguese national team, preparing to play two away matches in the UEFA Nations League against Poland and Scotland, on October 13 and 16 respectively.

After these matches, Ronaldo will have to help Al Nassr Club narrow the gap at the top of the Saudi Pro League (Saudi Arabia) against the top opponent Al Hilal, who is 4 points ahead after 6 matches. In the remaining matches in the Saudi Pro League in October, Al Nassr will play 2 away matches including against Al Shabab and Al Kholood on October 19 and 25.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vi-sao-ronaldo-va-al-nassr-tu-choi-den-iran-tran-dau-phai-doi-sang-tan-dubai-185241010103505601.htm