PLDC - Esteghlal faced Tractor in Week 16 of the Iranian Pro League and were held to a goalless draw, while none of the club’s foreign players were present.
Munir El Haddadi, Jasir Asani, Duckens Nazon, Antonio Adán, Didier Ndong, Moussa Djenepo, and Jaloliddin Masharipov, who had left Iran during the mid-season break, have not returned following the unprecedented killings carried out by the Islamic Republic.
Among Esteghlal’s foreign players, only Rustam Ashurmatov featured in Ricardo Sapinto’s squad for the match against Tractor. In recent days, various reports and speculation had circulated regarding the possible return of Esteghlal’s foreign players.
Following the unprecedented crackdown and killing of Iranian citizens by the Islamic Republic to suppress the Iranian national uprising, and amid warnings issued by foreign governments advising their citizens to leave Iran, Nuno Morais, Esteghlal’s coach and first assistant to Ricardo Sá Pinto, as well as foreign assistants of Tractor head coach Dragan Skocic, terminated their contracts.
