Al Nassr chose not to mention CR7 in the team for the trip to Esteghlal, probably because of the chaos that unfolded during an earlier visit to Tehran.
Cristiano Ronaldo has not been appointed in the Al Nassr team for this week's trip to Iranian side Esteghlal, probably because of concern about his safety after an incident in Tehran.
Al Nassr travel to Iran for the first stage of their AFC Champions League Last-16 match against Esteghlal on Monday 3 March. The will of Sadio Mane, Jhon Duran and Marcelo Brozovic are all included in the team, but there is no CR7 in the team list.
Last year the journey from Al Nassr to Tehran was overshadowed by widespread protests and huge crowds who swarm the team and Ronaldo in particular. The game was played in an empty stadium because of a ban on home fans, but supporters stormed the team of the team in an attempt to meet Ronaldo.
World Soccer Talk reports that Al Nassr has officially asked that this year's game will be played at a neutral location, stating last year's incident as proof that team safety cannot be guaranteed. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) rejected Al Nassr's request, but the Saudi team chose not to risk it, so that the captain left home for the first stage.
What happened when Ronaldo visited Iran?
In September 2023, NASSR became the first Saudi team in seven years that a match played in Iran. Their visit came shortly after the end of a seven -year ban on Saudi teams that date from an attack from an Iranian militia at the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were gradually restored and could already return to the AFC Champions League match of that year. But despite guarantees for safety, there were wild scenes when Fans flooded the team hotel and ran after the team bus.
Al Nassr won the game 2-0, but the police had to intervene to control the crowd of the team's hotel and CR7 was the focus of the chaos. Officials will hope that this year's competition is better protected, but CR7 has decided not to risk it for the first stage. He gets the chance to leave a stamp on the draw for the return match on Monday 10 March.
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