By Uche Mbah
The Iranian tension is gradually taking its toll as Manchester United has cancelled their training plans due to heightened tension. The training sessions were scheduled for next month.
They will no longer play for a period of 16 days between Premier League ties against Wolves on 1 February and at Chelsea on 17 February.
Last year, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took his team to Dubai twice-one in January and another in November. Dubai had been n the top list of places to go to, but that seems to have been shelved. They had once used aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar. Replacements, however, has not been announced.
“There are things that worry me more than football. We were looking at the Middle East but that is definitely not going to happen. We will stay in Europe”, he said.
If Solskjaer decides to keep his Manchester United in Europe, it is highly likely that Spain or Portugal may be chosen to prepare for the rest of their campaign, which includes a Europa League last-32 meeting with Belgian side Club Bruges.
Qatar has told tourists that they should “remain vigilant” amid a “heightened threat of terrorist attacks globally against UK interests and British nationals”.
There has been heightened tension in the Gulf region since an Iranian general, Qassem Suleiman, was killed by drone attacks that angered the Supreme leader. A retaliatory attack on two American bases and the downing of a Ukrainian Aircraft increased the tensions, and countries are advising their citizens to be wary of Iran. The British High Commission was arrested by the Iranian authorities but later released.
