Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is closely monitoring the current issues faced by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) with regard to the announcement of a Law by the Republic Parliament designating the FFIRI as a Non Government public body and prohibiting the engagement of retired personnel.

The FFIRI stresses that it is a non governmental Organisation and the AFC state that all Member Associations must fulfil their duties without any third-party interference either from the Government or the Parliament.

The AFC is closely working with the FFIRI, whose current board was elected for four years in May 2016, to prevent any outside interference.

The AFC has a zero tolerance policy towards any third-party interference in their Member Associations and hopes that, with less than two months to the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, the FFIRI can maintain its independence and avoid any sanctions.