Iranian striker Issa Alekasir has been handed a six-month ban by the Asian Football Confederation for a “discriminatory gesture” just hours before he was due to lead his club Persepolis into the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League.
The 30-year-old forward, who has scored four times in the last three games in the competition, received the ban after making a slant-eyed gesture to television cameras after scoring against Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor in the quarter-finals on Wednesday evening.
Persepolis won the game 2-0 and take on Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr in the semi-finals on Saturday evening in Doha, where matches in the western half of the competition have been played due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Disciplinary and Ethics Committee has banned Issa Alekasir, of Persepolis FC, from taking part in any kind of football-related activity for six months for violating Article 58.1 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code (2019 Edition),” the AFC said in a statement. “The ban will take effect immediately.”
In addition, Alekasir, whose goal also took Persepolis through the Round of 16 with a 1-0 victory over Qatar’s Al Sadd, has been fined US$10,000.Persepolis take on Al Nassr on Saturday with the winner facing the top club from the eastern half of the draw in the final on December 19.