Asian football bosses order Hong Kong side Lee Man to play AFC Cup clash in Mongolia, deny neutral venue request
- Hong Kong club had been expecting to host playoff against Athletic 220 but city’s Covid-19 lockdown forced change of plan
- Manager Chan Hiu-ming disappointed in decision not to delay game until June, says team will fly to Thailand to prepare
Asian football bosses will not let Hong Kong Premier League club Lee Man switch their AFC Cup playoff game next month against Mongolia’s Athletic 220 to a neutral venue in June.
The two sides had been expected to play in Hong Kong on April 19, with the winners progressing to the group stages of the competition. But with the government shutting down all sport in the city since January, Lee Man had asked for the fixture to be moved to Taiwan.
However, the Asian Football Confederation said the game must be played on its original date, and ordered it be played in Mongolia.
The winners will face Hong Kong side Eastern Long Lions, Tainan City of Taiwan, and MUST CPK of Macau in the group stages. With games being played in Tainan in June.
“We were just told the match will now move to Mongolia under the original schedule,” Chan Hiu-ming, the Lee Man manager, said. “We were disappointed of course as all the effort spent was in vain, but because this is the decision of the Asian Football Confederation, we have to follow.
“We thought the AFC would help us in relocating the match as they are the governing body, but apparently they only decided to relocate the match to the opposition side without considering our concerns.
“The HKFA has been helpful in resolving the problems but there is little we can do without the help of the governing body.”
