On the night of May 31, as the clock struck Beijing time, the Syrian Football Association quickly responded by issuing an authoritative statement on the issue of relocating the Asian Qualifying Round 40 tournament. The statement made it clear that although the AFC has determined that the Group A tournament will continue to be held within China, there has long existed a clause that enables an alternative to the Chinese host country to be found at any time. In addition, the statement also strongly opposed any changes to the routes of the remaining tournaments in the group, especially those that might be favorable to the Chinese team.
On the Syrian Football Federation's official social media platform, Facebook, they wrote: "In a short period of time, we have been met with criticism from all sides. The motives behind these criticisms are varied and we have no intention of delving into them. First of all, we are in favor of the AFC and FIFA adopting the tournament system for their matches, as all of our remaining matches are not being played in our home countries. Therefore, we are in favor of hosting matches in any country. At the same time, the tournament system will help us avoid the hassles associated with frequent cross-country participation."
The statement also listed several key positions: under no circumstances would the Syrian Football Federation agree to adjust the distance of the remaining Group A matches, especially if such adjustments could be made in favor of the Chinese team. At the same time, the statement also mentioned that the AFC had repeatedly issued statements about China's imposition of barriers to entry, and that the AFC therefore reserved the right to substitute China as the host nation at any time.
The Syrian Football Association also revealed that the President of the Association, Al Ghayeb, is ready to have an in-depth communication with the President of the AFC, Ben Ibrahim, to discuss the matter. It also emphasized that the above actions are carried out with the continuous communication and support of the Syrian Olympic Committee, while thanking the Syrian Consulate in Dubai for its great efforts and support in achieving the desired goals.
