Saudi, UAE football teams will play in Qatar despite travel ban

DUBAI, Jan 28 (AFP): Saudi and UAE football authorities said on Sunday their teams will play Asian Champions League away matches in Qatar despite a travel ban they have imposed on their Gulf neighbour.
The decisions by the Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates football federations came after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) decided overnight in Kuala Lumpur that their teams were required to play in Qatar and also host Qatari teams.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt in June imposed a total air, land and sea blockade on Qatar after accusing it of backing extremist groups. Qatar has categorically denied the charges.
The four nations had also imposed a travel ban on Qatari citizens and barred their nationals from travelling to Qatar, which will host the 2022 World Cup finals.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ruled all matches would be played on a home-and-away basis as planned, after Saudi Arabia had called for fixtures against Qatari teams to be shifted to a neutral country.
AFC said the decision to maintain the home-and-away format was made after an independent safety and security assessment was completed.
Based on the AFC decision, "the Saudi Federation will facilitate the participation of Saudi clubs in the competition," said a statement by the Saudi federation on Sunday.