The two explosions that rocked the area of Jnah in Beirut today were directed against the Iranian embassy and ended up killing 25 people and injuring hundreds, but that wasn’t enough to postpone the planned game between Iran and Lebanon as part of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. In fact, the game was played without fans and Lebanon lost by 4 goals to 1 against the Iranian team.
How can one keep a football game ongoing after a tragedy like the one we’ve witnessed today? It’s one thing not to over-react and freak out after a bombing since we unfortunately “got used” to them, but asking the Lebanese and Iranian teams to play an Asian qualifier a couple of hours after the explosion is immoral and unacceptable!
Iran’s head coach Carlos Queiroz said the atmosphere was not suitable for the match and said it should be canceled.