FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee sent a letter to the Iranian Football Federation, demanding explanations of the events of the match between Iran and Lebanon in Mashhad.

6 months after the events of the game, the final one in the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers where Iran hosted Lebanon, the World governing body informed the FFFIRI in a letter two days that investigations are in progress addressing events of that match as a case is filed due to several code violations, giving the Iranian side six days to respond.

The letter, which has been signed by the head of the FIFA disciplinary committee, stated five cases of violations.  The FIFA Disciplinary Committee meeting will be held on September 22  and it should be seen what sort of sanctions ad or penalties will be handed to the Iranian Football Federation.

The Iran-Lebanon game was held in Mashhad on March 29, 2022, in which some ugly scenes were witnessed including using undue force by the security personnel against women spectators who held tickets for the match but were denied entry by force.

The official officials of the football federation apologized to the fans who were treated badly while declaring that the action of the security forces was beyond their control. It is highly unlikely that such an apology and excuse will be sufficient enough to escape punishment from FIFA which has the option to ban Iran from hosting official home games to heavy fines that can be the equivalent of all the income of the matches that Team Melli plays in the FIFA World Cup.

The forceful banning of women’s entry into the stadium was ordered by the local clergy in the holly city of Mashhad with the blessing of the government. It is highly unlikely for Mashhad to host any international game in the near future.