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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Via AP news wire

Ronaldo gets 1st Asian Champions League goal. Saudi team refuses to play in Iran over statue dispute

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal in the Asian Champions League in a 3-1 win for Al-Nassr over Istiklol on Monday to put some of the spotlight back on soccer after an earlier match between host Sepahan of Iran and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad was controversially canceled.

The Saudi team did not take to the field at Naghsh-e-Jahan Stadium in Isfahan because of busts of Gen. Qassem Soleimani — who commanded Iran’s elite Quds Force before he was killed in a U.S. drone strike in neighboring Iraq in January 2020 — and other political banners, Saudi Arabia’s Al Ekhbariya TV reported.

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