MOSCOW, 19 Mar – Iranian footballer Serdar Azmoun will miss the friendly match with the Russian national team due to personal circumstances, according to local ISNA news agency.

On Friday, the Russian Football Union (RFU) confirmed that the match will take place on March 23 at the Azadi stadium in Tehran and will start at 20:00 Moscow time. It is noted that the game will be held with the audience.

Azmoun received a call to the Iranian national team, but the 28-year-old footballer refused to participate in the team’s training camp, citing personal circumstances.

Azmoun has been playing for Bayer Leverkusen since 2022. From February 2019 to January 2022, the Iranian played for Zenit St. Petersburg. The striker has 62 goals and 17 assists in 104 matches for the Blue-White-Blues. As part of Zenit, Azmun won three national championship titles, a Cup and two Russian Super Cups. The striker became the top scorer of the 2019/20 season and the best player of the 2020/21 season according to the Russian Football Union.