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The 2016 AFC Champions League was the 35th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 14th under the current AFC Champions League title.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors defeated Al-Ain in the final to win their second AFC Champions League title, and qualified as the AFC representative at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, their second appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup. Guangzhou Evergrande were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the group stage.

Association team allocation

The AFC Competitions Committee proposed a revamp of the AFC club competitions on 25 January 2014, which was ratified by the AFC Executive Committee on 16 April 2014. The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) are ranked based on their national team's and clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions, with the allocation of slots for the 2015 and 2016 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2014 rankings:

• The associations are split into West Zone and East Zone, with 23 associations in each zone:
  • West Zone consists of the associations from West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, except India and Maldives
  • East Zone consists of the associations from ASEAN and East Asia, plus India and Maldives
• In each zone, there are a total of 12 direct slots in the group stage, with the 4 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
• The top 12 associations in each zone as per the AFC rankings are eligible to enter the AFC Champions League, as long as they fulfill the AFC Champions League criteria.
• The top six associations in each zone get at least one direct slot in the group stage, while the remaining associations get only play-off slots:
  • The associations ranked 1st and 2nd each get three direct slots and one play-off slot (in play-off round).
  • The associations ranked 3rd and 4th each get two direct slots and two play-off slots (one in play-off round, one in preliminary round 2).
  • The associations ranked 5th each get one direct slot and two play-off slots (both in preliminary round 2).
  • The associations ranked 6th each get one direct slot and one play-off slot (in preliminary round 2).
  • The associations ranked 7th to 12th each get one play-off slot (in preliminary round 1).
• The maximum number of slots for each association is one-third of the total number of clubs in the top division (e.g., Australia can only get a maximum of three total slots as there are only nine Australia-based clubs in the A-League).

The AFC Competitions Committee finalised the slot allocation for the 2015 and 2016 editions of the AFC Champions League based on the criteria, including the AFC rankings and the implementation of club licensing regulations, on 28 November 2014.

The following table shows the slot allocation for the 2016 AFC Champions League, which are adjusted accordingly since some of the slots are unused.

West Zone Rank Member Association Points Slots Group stage Play-off Zone All Play-off round Prelim. round 2 Prelim. round 1 1 2 Saudi Arabia 88.268 3 1 0 0 2 3 Iran 80.794 3 1 0 0 3 5 Uzbekistan 62.272 3 1 0 0 4 7 United Arab Emirates 57.792 2 2 0 0 5 9 Qatar 56.103 1 2 0 0 6 10 Iraq 47.106 0 0 0 0 7 11 Kuwait 45.423 0 0 0 0 8 12 Jordan 44.309 0 1 0 0 9 14 Oman 30.586 0 0 0 0 10 16 Bahrain 25.547 0 0 0 0 11 17 Lebanon 25.043 0 0 0 0 12 19 Syria 22.883 0 0 0 0 Total 12 8 0 0 8 20

East Zone Rank Member Association Points Slots Group stage Play-off Zone All Play-off round Prelim. round 2 Prelim. round 1 1 1 South Korea 94.866 3 1 0 0 2 4 Japan 77.107 3 1 0 0 3 6 Australia 57.940 2 1 0 0 4 8 China 57.660 2 1 1 0 5 13 Thailand 33.049 1 0 2 0 6 15 Vietnam 27.753 1 0 1 0 7 18 Indonesia 25.004 0 0 0 0 8 20 Hong Kong 20.077 0 0 1 0 9 21 Myanmar 18.949 0 0 1 0 10 22 Malaysia 18.153 0 0 1 0 11 23 India 16.756 0 0 0 1 12 24 Singapore 16.097 0 0 0 1 Total 12 4 7 2 13 25

Notes

1. United Arab Emirates had their fourth team entering the play-off round instead of the preliminary round 2 due to unused slots.
2. Qatar had their third and fourth teams entering the play-off round instead of the preliminary round 2 due to unused slots.
3. Iraq were allocated two preliminary round 2 slots, but were not allowed to participate as none of their teams passed the club licensing requirements.
4. Kuwait were allocated one preliminary round 1 slot, but could not participate due to FIFA's suspension of its football association.
5. Jordan had their team entering the play-off round instead of the preliminary round 1 due to unused slots.
6. ^ Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon and Syria were allocated one preliminary round 1 slot, but were not allowed to participate as none of their teams passed the club licensing requirements.
7. Indonesia were allocated one preliminary round 2 slot, could not participate in the AFC Champions League due to FIFA's suspension of its football association.
8. ^ Myanmar and Malaysia had their team entering the preliminary round 2 instead of the preliminary round 1 due to unused slots.

Teams

The following 45 teams from 17 associations entered the competition.

In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count only those since the 2002–03 season (including qualifying rounds), when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League. TH means title holders.

West Zone Team Qualifying method App Last App Group stage direct entrants (Groups A–D) Al-Nassr 2014–15 Saudi Professional League champions 3rd 2015 Al-Hilal 2015 King Cup winners 2014–15 Saudi Professional League 3rd place 12th 2015 Al-Ahli 2014–15 Saudi Professional League runners-up 8th 2015 Sepahan 2014–15 Persian Gulf Pro League champions 11th 2014 Zob Ahan 2014–15 Hazfi Cup winners 5th 2012 Tractor 2014–15 Persian Gulf Pro League runners-up 4th 2015 Pakhtakor 2015 Uzbek League champions 13th 2015 Nasaf Qarshi 2015 Uzbekistan Cup winners 2015 Uzbek League 3rd place 4th 2015 Lokomotiv Tashkent 2015 Uzbek League runners-up 4th 2015 Al-Ain 2014–15 UAE Pro-League champions 11th 2015 Al-Nasr 2014–15 UAE President's Cup winners 3rd 2013 Lekhwiya 2014–15 Qatar Stars League champions 5th 2015 Qualifying play-off participants Entering in play-off round Al-Ittihad 2014–15 Saudi Professional League 4th place 10th 2014 Naft Tehran 2014–15 Persian Gulf Pro League 3rd place 2nd 2015 Bunyodkor 2015 Uzbek League 4th place 9th 2015 Al-Jazira 2014–15 UAE Pro-League runners-up 8th 2015 Al-Shabab 2014–15 UAE Pro-League 3rd place 4th 2013 Al-Sadd 2015 Emir of Qatar Cup winners 2014–15 Qatar Stars League runners-up 11th 2015 El Jaish 2014–15 Qatar Stars League 3rd place 4th 2015 Al-Wehdat 2014–15 Jordan League champions 3rd 2015

East Zone Team Qualifying method App Last App Group stage direct entrants (Groups E–H) Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2015 K League Classic champions 10th 2015 FC Seoul 2015 Korean FA Cup winners 6th 2015 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2015 K League Classic runners-up 7th 2015 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2015 J1 League champions 4th 2014 Gamba Osaka 2015 Emperor's Cup winners 2015 J1 League runners-up 8th 2015 Urawa Red Diamonds 2015 J1 League 3rd place 5th 2015 Melbourne Victory 2014–15 A-League premiers and 2015 A-League Grand Final winners 5th 2014 Sydney FC 2014–15 A-League regular season runners-up 3rd 2011 Guangzhou Evergrande 2015 Chinese Super League champions 5th 2015 Jiangsu Suning 2015 Chinese FA Cup winners 2nd 2013 Buriram United 2015 Thai Premier League champions and 2015 Thai FA Cup winners 6th 2015 Becamex Bình Dương 2015 V.League 1 champions and 2015 Vietnamese Cup winners 3rd 2015 Qualifying play-off participants Entering in play-off round Pohang Steelers 2015 K League Classic 3rd place 7th 2014 FC Tokyo 2015 J1 League 4th place 2nd 2012 Adelaide United 2014–15 A-League regular season 3rd place 5th 2012 Shanghai SIPG 2015 Chinese Super League runners-up 1st none Entering in preliminary round 2 Shandong Luneng 2015 Chinese Super League 3rd place 8th 2015 Muangthong United 2015 Thai Premier League runners-up 5th 2014 Chonburi 2015 Thai Premier League 4th place 5th 2015 Hà Nội T&T 2015 V.League 1 runners-up 3rd 2015 Kitchee 2014–15 Hong Kong Premier League champions 2nd 2015 Yangon United 2015 Myanmar National League champions 1st none Johor Darul Ta'zim 2015 Malaysia Super League champions 2nd 2015 Entering in preliminary round 1 Mohun Bagan 2014–15 I-League champions 2nd 2002–03 Tampines Rovers 2015 S.League runners-up 2nd 2014

Notes

1. China (CHN): Jiangsu Suning had its name changed from "Jiangsu Sainty" in December 2015. They are referred to as "Jiangsu FC" by the AFC in its official reports for the 2016 AFC Champions League.
2. Singapore (SIN): Since Brunei DPMM, the 2015 S.League champions, is a team managed by the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions, their place was taken by Tampines Rovers, the league runners-up.
3. Thailand (THA): Since Suphanburi, the 2015 Thai Premier League 3rd place, failed to pass the club licensing requirements, their place was taken by Chonburi, the league 4th place.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).

Qualifying play-off

In the qualifying play-off, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 10.2). The eight winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round which were from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage.

The bracket of the qualifying play-off was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting each match. Teams from the same association could not be placed in the same play-off.

Preliminary round 1

East Zone

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Mohun Bagan	3–1	Tampines Rovers

Preliminary round 2

East Zone

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Hà Nội T&T	1–0	Kitchee
Chonburi	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Yangon United
Shandong Luneng	6–0	Mohun Bagan
Muangthong United	0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–0 p)	Johor Darul Ta'zim

Play-off round

West Zone

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Al-Ittihad	2–1	Al-Wehdat
Naft Tehran	0–2	El Jaish
Bunyodkor	2–0	Al-Shabab
Al-Jazira	2–2 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	Al-Sadd

East Zone

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Pohang Steelers	3–0	Hà Nội T&T
FC Tokyo	9–0	Chonburi
Adelaide United	1–2	Shandong Luneng
Shanghai SIPG	3–0	Muangthong United

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 10 December 2015, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group. In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the round of 16.

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		LOK	NAS	ITT	SEP
1	Lokomotiv Tashkent	6	2	4	0	6	3	+3	10	Advance to knockout stage		—	0–0	1–1	1–0
2	Al-Nasr	6	2	3	1	5	4	+1	9			1–1	—	0–0	2–0
3	Al-Ittihad	6	2	3	1	9	4	+5	9			1–1	1–2	—	4–0
4	Sepahan	6	1	0	5	2	11	−9	3			0–2	2–0	0–2	—

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ZOB	LEK	NSR	BYD
1	Zob Ahan	6	4	2	0	12	2	+10	14	Advance to knockout stage		—	0–0	3–0	5–2
2	Lekhwiya	6	2	3	1	7	2	+5	9			0–1	—	4–0	0–0
3	Al-Nassr	6	1	2	3	5	14	−9	5			0–3	1–1	—	3–3
4	Bunyodkor	6	0	3	3	5	11	−6	3			0–0	0–2	0–1	—

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		TRA	HIL	PAK	JAZ
1	Tractor Sazi	6	4	0	2	10	3	+7	12	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–2	2–0	4–0
2	Al-Hilal	6	3	2	1	10	7	+3	11			0–2	—	4–1	1–0
3	Pakhtakor	6	3	1	2	10	9	+1	10			1–0	2–2	—	3–0
4	Al-Jazira	6	0	1	5	2	13	−11	1			0–1	1–1	1–3	—

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		JSH	AIN	AHL	NSF
1	El Jaish	6	3	1	2	6	8	−2	10	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–1	1–4	1–0
2	Al-Ain	6	3	1	2	8	6	+2	10			1–2	—	1–0	2–0
3	Al-Ahli	6	3	0	3	10	7	+3	9			2–0	1–2	—	2–1
4	Nasaf Qarshi	6	1	2	3	4	7	−3	5			0–0	1–1	2–1	—

Group E

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		JHM	TOK	JIA	BBD
1	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	6	3	1	2	13	9	+4	10	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–1	2–2	2–0
2	FC Tokyo	6	3	1	2	8	8	0	10			0–3	—	0–0	3–1
3	Jiangsu Suning	6	2	3	1	10	7	+3	9			3–2	1–2	—	3–0
4	Becamex Binh Duong	6	1	1	4	6	13	−7	4			3–2	1–2	1–1	—

Group F

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SEO	SHD	HIR	BUR
1	FC Seoul	6	4	1	1	17	5	+12	13	Advance to knockout stage		—	0–0	4–1	2–1
2	Shandong Luneng	6	3	2	1	7	5	+2	11			1–4	—	1–0	3–0
3	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	6	3	0	3	9	8	+1	9			2–1	1–2	—	3–0
4	Buriram United	6	0	1	5	1	16	−15	1			0–6	0–0	0–2	—

Group G

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SSI	MEL	SSB	GAM
1	Shanghai SIPG	6	4	0	2	10	8	+2	12	Advance to knockout stage		—	3–1	2–1	2–1
2	Melbourne Victory	6	2	3	1	7	7	0	9			2–1	—	0–0	2–1
3	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	6	2	3	1	7	4	+3	9			3–0	1–1	—	0–0
4	Gamba Osaka	6	0	2	4	4	9	−5	2			0–2	1–1	1–2	—

1. ^ Head-to-head points: Melbourne Victory 2, Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2. Head-to-head away goal: Melbourne Victory 1, Suwon Samsung Bluewings 0

Group H

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SYD	URA	GZE	POH
1	Sydney FC	6	3	1	2	4	4	0	10	Advance to knockout stage		—	0–0	2–1	1–0
2	Urawa Red Diamonds	6	2	3	1	6	4	+2	9			2–0	—	1–0	1–1
3	Guangzhou Evergrande	6	2	2	2	6	5	+1	8			1–0	2–2	—	0–0
4	Pohang Steelers	6	1	2	3	2	5	−3	5			0–1	1–0	0–2	—

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split between the two zones until the final. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 12.3).

Bracket

	Round of 16						Quarter-finals						Semi-finals						Final
	FC Tokyo	2	0	2
	Shanghai SIPG (a)	1	1	2
							Shanghai SIPG	0	0	0
							Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	0	5	5
	Melbourne Victory	1	1	2
	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1	2	3
													Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	4	1	5
													FC Seoul	1	2	3
	Urawa Red Diamonds	1	2	3 (6)
	FC Seoul (p)	0	3	3 (7)
							FC Seoul	3	1	4
							Shandong Luneng	1	1	2
	Shandong Luneng (a)	1	2	3
	Sydney FC	1	2	3
																			Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2	1	3
																			Al-Ain	1	1	2
	Al-Ain	1	2	3
	Zob Ahan	1	0	1
							Al-Ain	0	1	1
							Lokomotiv Tashkent	0	0	0
	Al-Hilal	0	1	1
	Lokomotiv Tashkent	0	2	2
													Al-Ain	3	2	5
													El Jaish	1	2	3
	Lekhwiya	0	4	4
	El Jaish	4	2	6
							El Jaish (1st leg awd.)	3	1	4
							Al-Nasr	0	0	0
	Al-Nasr	4	1	5
	Tractor Sazi	1	3	4

Round of 16

In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group from the same zone, with the group winners hosting the second leg.

West Zone

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Al-Hilal	1–2	Lokomotiv Tashkent	0–0	1–2
Al-Nasr	5–4	Tractor Sazi	4–1	1–3
Al-Ain	3–1	Zob Ahan	1–1	2–0
Lekhwiya	4–6	El Jaish	0–4	4–2

East Zone

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Melbourne Victory	2–3	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1–1	1–2
FC Tokyo	2–2 (a)	Shanghai SIPG	2–1	0–1
Urawa Red Diamonds	3–3 (6–7 p)	FC Seoul	1–0	2–3 (a.e.t.)
Shandong Luneng	3–3 (a)	Sydney FC	1–1	2–2

Quarter-finals

In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Zone were drawn into two ties, and the four teams from the East Zone were drawn into the other two ties, with the order of legs also decided by the draw.

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 9 June 2016, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There was no seeding or country protection, so teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.

West Region

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Al-Ain	1–0	Lokomotiv Tashkent	0–0	1–0
El Jaish	4–0	Al-Nasr	3–0 (awd.)	1–0

East Region

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Shanghai SIPG	0–5	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	0–0	0–5
FC Seoul	4–2	Shandong Luneng	3–1	1–1

Notes

9. The El Jaish v Al-Nasr first leg, originally won 3–0 by Al-Nasr, was forfeited and awarded 3–0 to El Jaish by the AFC Disciplinary Committee on 12 September 2016, as Al-Nasr fielded the player Wanderley who was found to be registered using a fake Indonesian passport.

Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Zone play each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Zone play each other, with the order of legs determined by the quarter-final draw.

West Region

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Al-Ain	5–3	El Jaish	3–1	2–2

East Region

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	5–3	FC Seoul	4–1	1–2

Final

In the final, the two semi-final winners play each other, with the order of legs reversed from the previous season's final, with the team from the East Zone hosting the first leg, and the team from the West Zone hosting the second leg.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2–1	Al-Ain
Leonardo 70', 77' (pen.)	Report	Asprilla 63'

Al-Ain	1–1	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Lee Myung-joo 34'	Report	Han Kyo-won 30'

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won 3–2 on aggregate.

Awards

Main awards

Award	Player	Team
Most Valuable Player	Omar Abdulrahman	Al-Ain
Top Goalscorer	Adriano	FC Seoul
Fair Play Award	—	Al-Ain

All-Star Squad

Source:

Position	Player	Team
Goalkeepers	Kwoun Sun-tae	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Ignatiy Nesterov	Lokomotiv Tashkent
Defenders	Ismail Ahmed	Al-Ain
	Gil	Shandong Luneng
	Kim Ju-young	Shanghai SIPG
	Cho Sung-hwan	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Kwak Tae-hwi	FC Seoul
Midfielders	Omar Abdulrahman	Al-Ain
	Kim Bo-kyung	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Server Djeparov	Lokomotiv Tashkent
	Lee Jae-sung	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Seydou Keita	El Jaish
	Leonardo	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Walter Montillo	Shandong Luneng
	Lee Myung-joo	Al-Ain
Forwards	Adriano	FC Seoul
	Danilo Moreno Asprilla	Al-Ain
	Caio	Al-Ain
	Dejan Damjanović	FC Seoul
	Hulk	Shanghai SIPG
	Wu Lei	Shanghai SIPG
	Ricardo Lopes	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Romarinho	El Jaish

Opta Best XI

Source:

Position	Player	Team
Goalkeeper	Khalid Eisa	Al-Ain
Defenders	Ahmed Al-Yassi	Al-Nasr
	Ismail Ahmed	Al-Ain
	Mahmoud Khamees	Al-Nasr
Midfielders	Omar Abdulrahman	Al-Ain
	Leonardo	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Lee Jae-sung	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Wu Lei	Shanghai SIPG
Forwards	Adriano	FC Seoul
	Douglas	Al-Ain
	Romarinho	El Jaish

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Team	MD1	MD2	MD3	MD4	MD5	MD6	2R1	2R2	QF1	QF2	SF1	SF2	F1	F2	Total
1	Adriano	FC Seoul	4	3	2			1		1	1			1			13
2	Leonardo	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors						1	1	2		2	2		2		10
3	Romarinho	El Jaish	1						2	1		1		2			7
4	Dejan Damjanović	FC Seoul	1		1		1			1	1						5
	Douglas	Al-Ain	1			2			1				1				5
	Igor Sergeev	Pakhtakor	1	1	1		2										5
	Lee Dong-gook	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1	1	1							2					5
	Wu Lei	Shanghai SIPG	1	1		1			1	1							5
9	Danilo Moreno Asprilla	Al-Ain					1	1		1					1		4
	Besart Berisha	Melbourne Victory	1					1	1	1							4
	Elkeson	Shanghai SIPG		1	2		1										4
	Abderrazak Hamdallah	El Jaish	1	1			1		1								4
	Jô	Jiangsu Suning		1		1	1	1									4
	Nguyễn Anh Đức	Becamex Bình Dương	1	1		2											4
	Diego Tardelli	Shandong Luneng	1	1			1		1								4

Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-off are not counted when determining top scorer (see regulations, Article 77.4).

Source: the-AFC.com

Controversies

On 25 January 2016, the AFC announced changes to the group stage schedule due to Saudi Arabia's refusal to play in Iran. After the changes, all matches between teams from Iran and Saudi Arabia (including possible play-off winners) were rescheduled to be played on matchdays 5 and 6 (19–20 April and 3–4 May). The venues of these matches would be decided after an evaluation deadline of 15 March 2016. As there had not been a return to normal relations between the two countries by then with Saudi Arabia refusing to lift their travel restrictions to Iran, the AFC accepted the Saudi Arabian Football Federation's proposal of playing all matches between teams from Iran and Saudi Arabia in neutral venues. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation supports its clubs who refuse to travel to Iran. The Iranian Football Federation has stated that it could withdraw from the AFC Champions League due to the venue changes.

See also

• 2016 AFC Cup
• 2016 FIFA Club World Cup

References

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25. "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2016 AFC Champions League Knockout Stage". the-afc.com. AFC.
26. "Decisions following AFC Competitions Committee meeting". AFC. 25 January 2016.
27. "Saudi Arabia and Iran clubs to play at neutral venues in Champions League". AFC. 16 March 2016.
28. "AFC Champions League football matches delayed over Saudi-Iran tension". Gulf News. 25 January 2016. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
29. Ali Khan, Mir Farhad (2 February 2016). "Iranian clubs could withdraw from AFC Champions League due to venue changes". Persian Football.

External links

• AFC Champions League, the-AFC.com

• 2016 AFC Champions League
• 2016 in Asian football