AFC has imposed sanctions on India’s Mohun Bagan for refusing to travel to Iran for an Asian Champions League match in September.
Published December 18, 2025
Indian club Mohun Bagan Super Giant has been expelled from the Asian Football Confederation competition and ordered to pay more than $100,000 for refusing to travel to Iran for September’s Asian Champions League match against Sepahan SC, the Asian Football Confederation announced in a statement.
The AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee on Wednesday decided to exclude Mohun Bagan from the next Asian Games, which will qualify them until the 2027-28 season.
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The Indian champions were also fined $50,000 and ordered to pay an additional $50,729 for damages and losses suffered by AFC and Sepahan. Mohun Bagan were also stripped of their subsidy to participate in the continental second division tournament.
Mohun Bagan were withdrawn from the competition after refusing to travel to Iran for group stage matches, citing security and lack of medical insurance coverage in Iran, and the match was declared null and void by the AFC.
The club moved to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and asked for the match to be moved to a neutral venue, but CAS rejected their initial request.
“The players have decided that they cannot take this risk because their lives and the future of their families are at stake. So we have to support them,” a Mohun Bagan official told Reuters.
Mohun Bagan have five players from Australia, Spain and the United Kingdom who have advised their citizens against traveling to Iran, the official added.
The club also did not travel to Iran last year for a match against Tractor SC, which was scheduled for October 2, 2024, the day after Iran fired a ballistic missile at Israel. As a result, Mohun Bagan were withdrawn from the tournament.
According to the source, Mohun Bagan is considering an appeal against the suspension.
