https://arab.news/z5gce
- Al-Hilal contacted AFC to request postponing Sunday's match against Shahr Khodro
RIYADH: The Saudi Al-Hilal team has officially requested to postpone its scheduled match on Sunday against its Iranian counterpart Shahr Khodro at Al-Janoub Stadium in the Qatari capital, Doha, in the fifth round of group stage of the AFC Champions League football competition.
The club published a statement on its official Twitter account saying it had contacted the AFC to request to postpone its match against the Iranian team after 10 players contracted COVID-19.
The club said it had 鈥渃aused a major crisis in the team, after the number of players infected with the virus has now reached 15,鈥� according to the statement.
Al-Hilal was looking to qualify for the next round, as they lead the group with 10 points from four matches, compared to seven points for Uzbekistan鈥檚 Pakhtakor Tashkent and six for the UAE鈥檚 Shabab Al-Ahli Club club. Shahr Khodro are still without points.
Al-Hilal, who has suffered absences from many players due to coronavirus, needs to obtain only one point in order to qualify for the Round 16, pending the AFC鈥檚 response to the Saudi team鈥檚 request.