Asian football officials "are monitoring the diplomatic crisis between Qatar and other Arab states," hoping to minimize the impact on int'l competitions being played in the Gulf region, according to Michael Church of REUTERS. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen "have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar," which will hold the World Cup in '22. Doha "has regularly been used by football teams from nations incapable of playing games on home soil due to adverse security situations or as a result of diplomatic rows with other countries in the region." But with ties between Qatar and its neighbors severed on Monday, Asian Football Confederation General Secretary Windsor John said that the continental body "was still assessing events." John: "We are monitoring the situation very closely, especially when it involves match officials traveling and because Qatar is the host to many of our teams who play in neutral venues." He said that there had been "no immediate impact since no Qatari clubs were playing in the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League." John added, "Now we need to check how the neutral venues will be impacted and we will have to go back to the countries that have chosen Doha as a neutral venue to come up with alternatives" (REUTERS, 6/6).
