Hong Kong-Iran World Cup match gets Fifa go-ahead following formal complaint from visitors
- The visitors requested to move the World Cup qualifying game to a neutral ground because of social unrest in the city
- Governing body rejects the move and the match will take place at So Kon Po venue on Tuesday as scheduled
However, the Iranian consulate general in Hong Kong posted a message on its social media account on Wednesday night, saying: “Let’s enjoy the Football match: Iran vs. Hong Kong. Tuesday, September 10, 2019 Hong Kong Stadium”. Pictures of the two teams have also been posted.
It is believed the Iran team have already arrived in preparation for the game at the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium in So Kon Po.
The visitors, who rank number one in Asia, are the hot favourites to win the group, which also features Iraq and Bahrain.
Although Iran will be without one of their top players, Saman Ghoddos, for the Hong Kong match, they are still likely to open their account with a victory in the group after a bye in the opening round this week.
Sweden-born forward Ghoddos, who played for the Scandinavian country in friendlies before representing Iran at the 2018 World Cup finals, was suspended from all games by Fifa for four months over a questionable club transfer deal.