East Bengal coach refuses to travel to Iraq

East Bengal's British head coach Trevor Morgan and Australian striker Tolgay Ozbey have refused to travel to Iraq for the return leg of their 2012 AFC Cup clash against Arbil SC, an Iraqi official confirmed on Monday.

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"Trevor James Morgan, who has coached Kingfisher East Bengal FC since July 2010, has refused to come with his team," Arbil FC spokesman Ribin Ramzi told AFP.

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"We offered him guarantees concerning his security but he continued to refuse, stating he was following the advice of his country."

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Travel advisories issued by the British and Australian governments stated that Morgan and Ozbey could go to Iraq only at their own risk.

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East Bengal's assistant coach Ranjan Chowdhury will stand in for Morgan during the game. Arbil won last Wednesday's first leg tie in Calcutta 2-0.

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The AFC Cup is a tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation for clubs from developing countries in Asia.

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