Bayern Munich's Iranian striker Vahid Hashemian will not travel to Israel for Wednesday's Champions League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The German club said the decision had been taken on Monday because the player had a back injury.

Iran's citizens are forbidden from travelling to Israel and Hashemian's possible visit had raised a comment from an Iranian sports official.

"The presence of an Iranian athlete as an individual or as part of a team (in Israel) is forbidden according to the policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Mohammad Derakhshan, an official from Iran's Physical Training Organisation, was quoted as saying by the ISNA students news agency.

"Their presence as part of a foreign team is a new issue and will have to be discussed," he added.

Bayern coach Felix Magath had said on Sunday that he planned to take Hashemian to Israel. Magath said then that he had taken the decision after discussing the political aspect of the issue with the player, who had agreed to go.

A Bayern spokesman said on Monday that the decision not to take Hashemian to Israel had been motivated only by his physical condition.

"He's got back pain and he couldn't train today (Monday)," the spokesman said.

"It would have made no sense for him to go."

Iran gave judo world champion Arash Miresmaeili a $125,000 reward earlier this month, saying he sacrificed a gold medal by refusing to fight an Israeli at last month's Athens Olympics.

The International Judo Federation had considered a sanction against Miresmaeili during the Games but concluded that he had been overweight for the fight and could not have taken part.

Iran has refused to recognise the Jewish state's right to exist since its 1979 Islamic revolution.