In his first meeting with the press since Iran’s home defeat against Uzbekistan , Ali Kaffashian the incumbent President of the Football Federation , said that ” demands for the sacking of Carlos Queiroz for poor results and performance is illogical at this stage.” He assured the press that the Portuguese coach, is a true professional and will continue honoring his contractual obligation that he started some 20 months ago. Kaffashian , who was the target of the fan’s wrath at Azadi stadium last Wednesday by a section of the fans that demanded his own resignation from the federation , has said that to pick a new coach and start from scratch in order to take us to Brazil is very unreasonable logic.
The President of Iran Football Federation, was attending Zanjan Province football committee elections on Monday Night, also said that “We are trying to consolidate and take into account the views of other experts and the inputs from various coaches including our own technical committee in the hope of displaying some attractive football and gain the right results in the remaining 3 matches (in the WC Qualification matches) “ Asked about his intentions to resign, Kaffashian said that “the continuation or departure of a president in the federation should not be related to winning or losing a football match! The general assembly of the federation is the only legal body that can decide in these matters and I am obliged by their decision”
Questions then were asked about the demands for his resignation due to the continual failure by all Iranian teams during his two terms in the office. Kaffashian said “those who demand my resignation better show their own plans and scenarios for improving football in our country. If they do not have any alternative solutions, then they better not demand my resignation. Such calls are all part of a personal vendetta against me rather than any attempt to improve the status of football”
In his responses to question by the press asking about the reasons behind all the failures and defeats suffered by Iran’s football at all fronts , and why are there always the same old excuses tprovided by the federation after each loss , Kaffashian commented “There are no excuses provided, we only talk facts (…). It is clear to everyone and the public who is doing the hard work and just talking. Some countries have invested a lot in their football and that is why they are so are successful”. He claims that compared to previous tournaments , Team Melli is actually playing better against the opposition and that is the result of our hard work, unfortunately though , we lost to Uzbekistan which makes the qualification that much harder. We still have 3 rounds to go and if the players have taken the opportunities better, we should have been in a much more comfortable position by now.
Ali Kaffashin , has hardly ever admitted any personal shortcomings in his administration and never provided any apology or regretted to the public the losses incurred on the Iranian teams apart from providing the usual cliché of “We have been doing our best , but hopefully we will win the next match”. Demands for his resignation, or dismissal from his post can only be achieved by a majority vote of the general assembly of the federation members. Many observers doubt that such demand will be forthcoming as all the clubs are government owned and run , and it is unlikely that the paymaster will approve of such move. It is no secret that Ali Kaffashain has the Ministry of Sports backing and it was the government influence that brought him to power.
It is unclear what the hierarchy has seen in the gentleman’s abilities as a football administrator, though.