TEHRAN – Tens of thousands of Iranian football fans have launched a bizarre rant at Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Instagram account after the confederation said that the Iranian teams cannot host their matches in AFC Champions League.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has sent a letter to the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) wanting them that they would not be hosting AFC Champions League matches for security reasons.

An extraordinary meeting was immediately held on Saturday at the FFIRI’s headquarters to address the situation and the managers of the four clubs representing Iran in the upcoming ACL emphasized that they will withdraw from the tournament if the AFC insists on its decision.

More than 55,000 Instagram posts used the hashtag #ACLneediranfans following the decision made by Asian Football Confederation.

Iranian football teams Esteghlal and Shahr Khodro are scheduled to play Kuwait SC and Riffa in the 2020 AFC Champions League Preliminary Stage Two. Persepolis and Sepahan have already learned their rivals in the ACL Group Stage.