Spain-Argentina ‘Finalissima’ in Qatar at risk amid US, Israel attacks on Iran

DOHA – The “Finalissima” match between Spain and Argentina in Doha is in doubt after the Qatar Football Association suspended football tournaments indefinitely, following United States and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory missiles fired at the Arabian Peninsula.

The contest between European Championship winners Spain and Copa America champions Argentina was scheduled for March 27 at the Lusail Stadium, with potential big-name draws including Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi of Inter Miami.

“Qatar Football Association announces the postponement of all tournaments, competitions and matches, effective from today and until further notice,” the association said in a statement on March 1.

“The new dates for the resumption of competitions will be announced in due course through the association’s official channels.”

The final call on whether to postpone the game rests with event organisers UEFA and Conmebol.

The Bahrain Football Association has also postponed all its matches while the Asian Football Confederation announced it was delaying Champions League Elite fixtures in the region.

The Asian Champions League Two, at the quarter-final stage, has also been impacted, along with Challenge League games.

Countries across the Middle East have been on high alert since Feb 28, when the US and Israel launched air strikes against Iran aimed at diminishing Iran’s military capability.

Iran retaliated by attacking US targets around the region, including in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

On March 1, Qatar’s interior ministry reported a fire in an industrial zone after debris fell from an intercepted missile. With all that is going on, it is unlikely that the Finalissima will go ahead in Doha as planned.

Beyond football, Euroleague Basketball also announced the cancellation of the NextGen EuroLeague qualifying tournament in Abu Dhabi, citing safety and security concerns for participants.

“After careful evaluation and ongoing consultation with relevant authorities and stakeholders, it was determined that cancelling the event is the most responsible course of action at this time,” the league said in a statement on March 1.

Australian Grand Prix chief executive Travis Auld, meanwhile, anticipates no impact on this weekend’s Formula One season-opener at Melbourne’s Albert Park from the travel issues caused by the conflict.

Formula One teams recently completed pre-season testing in Bahrain and many team personnel – who have returned to Europe where they are based – were scheduled to pass through Qatar or the UAE again on their journey to Australia for the March 8 race.

“No doubts the events of the weekend have thrown out the travel plans for the teams and F1 themselves,” Auld told Fox Sports on March 1.

“F1 are experts at moving people around the world and so they’ve quickly rescheduled flights. I’m told everyone’s now locked in and arriving within the required timeframes and so there’ll be no impact on our race. But it’s certainly been a busy 48 hours, particularly for F1.”

The season-opener will be followed later in March by races in China and Japan before the first of the Gulf races on the Formula One calendar in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in April.

“I’m sure (F1) are thinking ahead to what the implications might be,” Auld added.

“As it stands at the moment, there are no issues for us. But I’d imagine beyond us, they’ll be thinking about what they might do to their calendar if they need to.”

He also said that the nature of the Albert Park venue made it unlikely that Melbourne would be able to step in and stage another race if the conflict meant Bahrain or Saudi Arabia were unable to host their rounds.

“Obviously we spent a lot of time constructing this circuit and straight after the race, we pull it all back down again so the community can use it,” he explained.

“They’ll have other plans in place, as you would imagine, for a whole series of reasons.” REUTERS, AFP