April 5 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian national team's football association has appealed to FIFA to strongly demand that the home-and-away system be restored for subsequent matches in the 40-team tournament, according to Sports Weekly's reporter Ma Dexing.
The AFC had previously decided to adopt a conference system for the remaining matches in the 40-team tournament and had announced the detailed fixtures at the beginning of the month. However, reports in the Uzbek media indicate that a number of teams, including Iran, Vietnam and Thailand, have appealed to FIFA because they feel there is an injustice in the choice of home venues and want FIFA to return to the home-and-away system.
Since the announcement of the groups' venues in March, there has been unrelenting controversy over where to host the matches. Among them, Iran reacted particularly strongly as three of their four remaining matches were scheduled to be played at home, but the AFC chose Bahrain, which it had already played on the road. The decision triggered strong resentment from the Iranian Football Federation, the Olympic Organizing Committee and even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who appealed through a number of channels.
On top of that, Jordan in Group 2 have expressed their displeasure at the tournament being scheduled in Kuwait, while the UAE in Group 7 have been awarded the hosting rights, which has led to teams with hopes of making it out of the tournament such as Vietnam and Thailand questioning the AFC's choices, especially Thailand, who have two of their three remaining matches at home.
According to reports in the Uzbek media, FIFA is studying the teams' appeal requests, and if the dispute cannot be resolved, FIFA may revert to the home-and-away system, but the matchday arrangements will be re-planned. Madsen said the final result will have to wait for official news to be announced.
