The club abandoned him/The Macedonian footballer tells how Yasir Asani saved him in Iran: I had not eaten for 3 days...

2026-03-04 17:59:18Sport SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

The club abandoned him/The Macedonian footballer tells how Yasir Asani saved him

The war in Iran has also affected the world of football, with many footballers choosing to leave the Middle East due to the high risk of drone attacks. Among them are two Albanian footballers, Yasir Asani and Regi Luskja, who played there.

Before leaving Iran, national team player Yasir Asani also helped North Macedonian player Stefan Ashkovski, who had been abandoned by his club.

The latter has told the journalists of "Sport1" in North Macedonia all the ordeal he experienced and the great luck he had, in being able to leave Iran. And for all this he thanks Yasir Asani, who was the only one who was close to him.

Ashkovski said that he had been 15 hours away from where Asani was, but had managed to meet and travel with him thanks to the drivers that the Esteghlal club, where the Albanian plays, had made available to its players.

"I traveled from Rafsajan to Tehran for 15 hours, then to the border with Turkey and from there by plane to Istanbul. It was a big hassle to go through Iran. Yasir helped me, he had his own driver, I managed with him.

There were attacks everywhere, even near me, it had just started. I hadn't eaten or drunk for three days, I was just looking for a way to leave the country. After their leader was killed, nothing worked, everything was closed… everything was difficult, but everything ended well. Now I'm looking forward to going home, to sleep, to get some rest.

When everything happened, I was abandoned, if it weren't for Yasir... There were other foreigners, but no one helped me. I was sitting on the street, the foreigners from the Persepolis team were passing by on a bus and I asked them if I could go with them and they told me I couldn't. This will be a great experience for me in the future", the footballer told the sports media of his country.

After several days of traveling from Rafsajan, where he played, through Tehran to Istanbul, Ashkovski arrived in Skopje last night, where he was met by the RMV authorities, who granted him express entry into the country. He said he immediately received VIP treatment from representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, passing through border formalities at a special counter open only for him and his rescuer, Yasir Asan.

“Only now do I feel relieved, when I stepped on Macedonian soil. I am still in shock from everything that happened, I could write a book about what I went through in the last 72 hours. I am happy that I arrived in Skopje alive, thanks to everyone for the help, also to the people at the Skopje airport who welcomed me warmly. Now I just want to rest,” were the last words that Ashkovski told the newspaper during the trip from Istanbul.

He, among other things, showed that he does not regret going to play in Iran, where according to him it was much better than everyone thinks, but unfortunately the war interrupted everything.


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