Category: Sports & Games

12/11/2015

A torturous journey ahead for Team Melli, where is the justice?

After a short rest following the match against Turkmenistan, Team Melli will have to embark on that epic journey to the Pacific Ocean island of Guam, the other side of the world, to play its National team. The match in group D of the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers will entail a 40 hours journey and will involve several transits in airports such as Dubai and Seoul in South Korea before reaching the remote Island destination.

REMOTE DESTINATION
In this day and age and in a just culture, no person or group should be exposed to such inhumane and torturous journey for the sake of playing a 90 minutes football match. In the grand scheme of things, playing a match that means very little to both countries and teams, which adds no value to either Asian or World football standards, and costs a fortune in air tickets and other expenses.

It is a fact: [pullquote align=”right”]Human beings weren’t designed to spend hours at a time packed inside a pressure-controlled capsule [/pullquote]with recycled air and manufactured heat with hundreds of other people tens of thousands of feet in the air. Add in the jet lag and sleeplessness, and you have a recipe for true physiological torture.

This is one of the more preposterous, absurd and unfortunate side of football arrangements tha Iran Guam @ Azadi t no one dares to questions. What is a Pacific nation doing playing in Asia? . The governing bodies. FIFA and in a lessor extent AFC, as we all know rule supreme and with an iron fist. Questioning FIFA authority in terms of governance and match scheduling and arrangements , or not following its strict and more often than not, those ridicules rules of playing matches, will mean banishment from the football world and isolation from the rest of the globe.
Why is there no one in Iranian football federation or other AFC member states questioning this deal in which remote Islands of the Pacific are accepted as member of the Asian Region?

[quote class=”Speak up”]People, organizations and the fans need to speak up.[/quote]

It is beyond comprehension, logic and sanity to have teams travel thousands of miles for a football match and then probably return on the same day or after a little rest. Effect on health, mental status and the pockets are simply too great to be continually ignored and dismissed. People, organizations and the fans need to speak up.
One suspects that it is politics, rearing its dirty head in football. It could be some other dodgy arrangements with financial enumeration for FIFA or AFC. It could simply be for the sake of pleasing Big Brother, after all Guam is a United States of America protectorate, and the boys there need some entertainment so we push them in to AFC to enjoy round the globe travel and adventures.

I have nothing against Guam or any other nation for that matter, but it is simply too far and too torturous for central and western Asian teams to travel to. The same applies to Guam players by the way, we also feel for them as much as our teams. They should not be exposed to such torment either.
Last time I checked, Asia was the biggest continent in the world and it is several time bigger than Europe. Simply put, the football ruling bodies cannot and should not implement the same match scheduling because of the vast distances involved and different time zones in Asia.

It is time to act and stop this nonsense.

AFC needs to act, so does FIFA. Now that some wise guy had his fun , let us return back to sanity and stop these epic journeys. It is too late for Iran , Turkmenistan , India and Oman this time , but that leaves the two ruling bodies, enough time to ponder on this arrangements and come up with some sensible solutions that does not expose players to health risks , physical and mentally.

VISA NOT GRANTED!

On a separate issue, as if this long distressing trip to Guam is not bad enough, another major problem surfaced in the shape of granting visas for Iranian players to Guam. A US protectorate, Iranian Citizens, Visa Applications!!! that sounds alike a real case of pandemonium!! Now, we know that the FFIRI is not exactly the most organized and forward thinking football association in this world, but even if they were, the chances of getting it right would have been quite remote.
Whatever and whoever fault it is, a few players will not have received their visa’s on time or perhaps not granted a visa, as such, it is another good reason why Iran should not be involved in such competition which is beyond sporting. There are many reasons to leaving Guam in OFC to enjoy competing with its friendly neighbors who do not need visas to enter their country rather than
those get tangled with Asians with funny names.

Players such as Hajsafy , Azmoun , Haghighi and Ezzatollahei are all without a visa and will most probably not travel with the team. That is a third of the starting lineup who are unable to travel because of non-granting of Visa, so where is the justice and fair competition in that?

08/10/201508/10/2015

Tribute to Fereshteh Karimi , the star of Iranian woman Futsal.

Fereshteh Karimi , the girl from Nazi Abad of Tehran is a unique sample of Iranian woman who have excelled under the most awkward of conditions. Born on 6 Feb 1989 , Karimi has just lifted the Inaugral AFC Women’s Futsal Championship 2015 and also picked up the tournament’s Most Valuable Player

Fereshteh Karimi attributed her accolade to the teamwork that Iran displayed while beating Japan in the competition’s final on Saturday. The 26-year-old scored six goals in the campaign but undoubtedly her most important was the one she notched in the final, a strike which proved enough to hand Forouzan Soleimani’s side the title.

[pullquote align=”right”]“I’m very happy that we have become champions and I’d like to dedicate this win to the whole of Iran back home.” [/pullquote]

“I and my teammates played from the depths of our hearts in this game and there was a great challenge from our opponents Japan, so this win is even the more meaningful for us.

“But this award and win are not just because of me, but it was the great team effort that the other players consistently showed that made it possible and I’m thankful for them also for this recognition.”

Fereshteh who plays for Persepolis has played 15 times for Team Melli Women futsal team scoring 9 goals in the process. No doubt that final goal against Japan in the final was her most valuable and memorable. She has been selected as one of the 11 best women futsal players by the famous futsalplanet website.

Her undeniable skill has attracted interest from Polish and Russian futsal teams. Fereshteh had to turn down such offer for social reasons, the hijab being the Achilles heel of her possible career in Europe.
Speaking of Hijab, Fereshteh Karimi was playing football with Iran Women National team. She and her teammates were ready to play against Jordan in the 2014 Olympics games qualifiers. However, the team were denied from competing because hijab was deemed unacceptable. Fereshteh and her teammates were so shocked by this act of injustice , she broke down crying while the rest of the team followed. Their plight was so touching , the opponents, the Jordanian women , broke down joined the iranian girls crying.

Fereshteh need not worry much about her hijab anymore as FIFA has permitted the competition with the head covers and the road is open for her and her teammates to bring glory to Iran.

12/07/2015

Kaffashian confirms AFC sanction against Khakpour.

Ali Kaffashian who has attended the first New AFC Executive committee meeting in Manama, Bahrain confirmed in an interview that the AFC technical Committee does not recognize Mohammad Khakpour as a qualified trainer/coach for Iran’s U-23 team.

Khakpour , with little if any coaching experience at top level football was surprisingly selected to replace Nelo Vingada the coach of Iran’s U23 team or the Olympics team. This was carried out shortly after the disastrous exit of the U-23 team in the Asian games, one of the worst defeats of an Iranian representative team in the history. Widespread condemnations from the media, fans and experts, forced Kaffashian to react to save this team which was supposed to qualify for the Olympics Games in Rio. However, the man who is world famous for his grin and cool demeanor, acted hastily in an attempt to quell what was now some strong disapproval within the federation as well.

The selection of Mohammad Khakpour ahead of many qualified, more experienced and more competent coaches, domestic or foreign shocked many. In essence, FFIRI under Kaffashian could not have done any worse than such a move. To put icing on the cake, Habib Kashani and Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan were also appointed as managers in different capacities for the U23 team.

So, It was not very surprising nor very long before the fans experienced the result in such incompetency. Iran U23 lost against arch rivals Saudi Arabia in Tehran, in the penultimate game of the Asian Qualifiers for the Rio Olympic Games 2016. Iran was hosting the group but could not qualify directly to the next stage. Complete failure and elimination from the first step was avoided by the virtue of qualification to the final rounds as one of the best 5 groups runner ups. The final rounds of qualifications will be held in Qatar on January 2016.

The AFC came into the picture after examining the coaching certificates of Khakpour and found it below the minimum required to coach the U23 team. Khakpour has a coaching certificate in USA not recognized by FIFA or AFC. As such Mohammad Khakpour is not allowed to coach this team unless he attends a proper FIFA or AFC coaching course and passes the required tests.

Kaffashian’s attempt to dodge the issue of proper qualification of coaches mandated by FIFA and AFC resulted in a meeting with the Asian Technical Director Andy Roxburgh. The Scottish coach has been recently appointed in order to enhance Asian coaches education and player development.

Kaffashian, a Vice-President of AFC, failed to present a solid case for Khakpour’s appointment and could not respond to why his Khakpour’s credentials were not checked according to the AFC regulations. The verdict was clear and it stood as is. If Khakpour does not attend the proper certified AFC or FIFA coaching courses, he will be banned from sitting on the bench of Iran’s U23 team during official competitions.

True to his style, Kaffashian attempting to relegate the issue , said that the U23 team has no official activities or commitment until January 2016, so, they do not need to get all hyped up about it!

Of course, there is no mention by Kaffashian on accountability and responsibility of such an appointment or debacle, to be more precise.

01/06/2015

Putting Iran’s football name into disrepute

Jlloyd Samuel , a sad saga.

A disturbing interview with Trinidadian footballer Jlloyed Samuel conducted by ISNA news agency highlighted the degree at which Iranian football chiefs and administrators has put Iran’s name into disrepute.

Jlloyed Samuel the ex-Esteghlal player who currently plays for the relegated team Peykan , in Iran Persian Gulf League is virtually a prisoner in Iran and not allowed to leave due to that renowned charge of Income Tax evasion by footballers.

“Not only, Esteghlal has not paid my salaries, and that was the major reason that I left them, they have also ceased paying the income tax on my behalf that was part of their contractual obligation. As such I am not able to leave the country until this matter is sorted out” a despairing Samuel told ISNA.

“I am in frequent contact with Esteghlal management and all I hear repeatedly are promises one after another. Nothing but false promises and false hopes. I reached a stage that I was having difficulty making ends meet. I had no choice but to file an official complaint against Esteghlal with FIFA. The verdict was very clear in my benefit, yet Esteghlal has still not paid me.” Samuel said.

“I have a problem with Peykan as well but hope that at least with this club, matters do not reach FIFA as I hope that an amicable solution is reached. I am a professional player who came to Iran to work and earn money; I have to be paid like any other professional. When a footballer is not paid his due, it is impossible for him to concentrate and give his best while playing. His mind will always be occupied. Performance in football is not just about the physical state of a player but also his mental state. So many problems are piling up on me because of lack of money. I don’t understand why this is happening in Iran. People like me come here to give their best and expect to be rewarded and paid, I enjoyed playing in Esteghlal and loved Iran I loved the fans, but slowly this feeling turned into a nightmare. It cannot be good for Iran’s football reputation at all.”

“It is a joke that I am now being held here against my well. I am not an Iranian citizen and I need to go back to my family and country. I have sought diplomatic counseling and been advised to amicably sort out the issue first, before the diplomats escalate the issue and it becomes embarrassing.”

Carlos Queiroz was the last victim of the tax authority as his employer has neglected to pay his taxes. Queiroz was banned from traveling before some temporary payment helped to lift the travel ban.

Yet again, Iranian football management has miserably failed, not only professionally but also ethically and honorably. The incompetency and corruption of managers reaches its peak at Esteghlal and Persepolis clubs, both owned , managed and controlled by the government. No wonder that the owner wants to rid itself from these two clubs.

Source: ISNA

25/05/2015

FFIRI complains to AFC about Turkmenistan venue change.

Ali Kaffashian has confirmed that his administration has lodged a written complaint with the AFC in regards to the venue change of the upcoming match between Turkmenistan and Iran.

The host Turkmenistan, Iran’s neighbor to the north, has moved the venue form the capital city Ashgabat to the third largest city Daşoguz , 600 miles north of the capital. This city is right on the boarder of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and farthest away from Iranian boarders.

The move is a ploy by the Turkmen in order to discourage Iranian fans from Khorasan and Golestan from travelling to attend the match and support Team Melli. The two teams will be meeting on 16^th June in Group ‘D’ of the Asian Zone Qualifications round of the FIFA World Cup 2018.

Kaffashian said “We have told AFC that we cannot play at that venue and it has to be changed.” The president of FFIRI did not give any specific reasons for the request nor did he indicate if the AFC has responded to Iran’s request.

Meanwhile, the friendly match against Japan is still on according to Kaffashian. “We will play this game either in Oman or here in Tehran. We shall finalize that in due time.”

Commenting on Team Melli’s training camp in Turkey, Kaffashian said it is 50-50. “We have to wait and see on that although our preference is to conduct that camp for the benefit of the team. In any case, there are no friendly matches arranged in Turkey.”

Kaffashian was speaking to reporters before his departure to Zurich to attend FIFA 61^st General Assembly Congress.

09/04/201509/04/2015

Iran maintains Top FIFA ranking in Asia.

Iran climbed two places up in the latest FIFA ranking issued today.

After the European tour where Team Melli defeated Chile and then lost to Sweden , Iran’s ranking in the table improved to maintain the top position in Asian followed by Japan and South Korea. Australia , The AFC Asian Cup holder was ranked 4th.

At world level , World Cup holder Germany continues at the top followed by Argentina , Belgium , Colombia and Brazil.

AFC Teams Ranking

Rank	Team		Total Points	Previous Points	+/-	Avg.	AVG WGT	Avg.	AVG WGT	Avg.	AVG WGT	Avg.	AVG WGT
40	Iran	IRN	689(689.43)	692	2	336.87	336.87	439.32	219.66	250.48	75.14	288.80	57.76	AFC
50	Japan	JPN	614(613.94)	617	3	335.96	335.96	213.61	106.81	392.56	117.77	267.01	53.40	AFC
57	Korea Republic	KOR	575(575.44)	594	-1	312.46	312.46	217.75	108.87	267.84	80.35	368.81	73.76	AFC
63	Australia	AUS	531(531.08)	549	2	272.17	272.17	240.62	120.31	192.79	57.84	403.82	80.76	AFC
68	United Arab Emirates	UAE	501(500.59)	523	1	242.20	242.20	291.77	145.88	277.90	83.37	145.70	29.14	AFC
73	Uzbekistan	UZB	476(476.22)	483	-1	181.07	181.07	303.39	151.69	277.53	83.26	301.00	60.20	AFC
82	China PR	CHN	408(408.01)	423	1	245.50	245.50	132.40	66.20	131.43	39.43	284.41	56.88	AFC
86	Iraq	IRQ	385(384.76)	353	11	218.68	218.68	119.25	59.63	150.88	45.26	305.95	61.19	AFC
95	Saudi Arabia	KSA	349(349.39)	339	4	118.20	118.20	297.06	148.53	149.41	44.82	189.20	37.84	AFC
97	Oman	OMA	341(341.11)	356	-1	124.70	124.70	242.23	121.11	173.89	52.17	215.63	43.13	AFC
99	Qatar	QAT	337(336.65)	300	10	171.62	171.62	160.54	80.27	153.89	46.17	192.94	38.59	AFC
103	Jordan	JOR	316(316.20)	326	-2	61.72	61.72	272.08	136.04	241.77	72.53	229.57	45.91	AFC
108	Bahrain	BHR	299(298.85)	319	-4	147.44	147.44	151.92	75.96	120.79	36.24	196.05	39.21	AFC
125	Vietnam	VIE	229(228.83)	220	5	96.12	96.12	119.71	59.86	61.37	18.41	272.19	54.44	AFC
126	Syria	SYR	225(224.74)	141	26	131.58	131.58	85.69	42.85	86.70	26.01	121.51	24.30

10/03/201510/03/2015

What is behind the Chile game cancelation talk?

The Iranian football federation financial difficulties and failure to cover the activities of the national teams are old news. Under Kaffashian administration, the FFIRI has suffered chronic financial hardship, lack of resources and failure to create a proper marketing and sponsorship strategy to generate revenue for his federation.

The initial plan to play Sweden was a God send for the FFIRI as the Swedes have taken care of almost all the cost including transportation and accommodation for the Iranian squad and delegation. All that Iran needs to do is to turn up for the match.

A match agent who has a close working relationship with FIFA and Carlos Queiroz wisely proposed an extra match against Chile utilizing the South American’s team presence in Europe for a match against Brazil at the Emirates Stadium in London. Initially the date was agreed and Chile was to play against Iran in Sweden a few days before the Sweden match. As there was some fear by the Swedes that the proposed match with Chile and particularly the result might over shadow the main attraction, the Sweden-Iran match, they objected to the match venue being played in Sweden.

The agent then suggested Austria and presented another verbal proposal which would cost the FFIRI nothing while the agent would retain the match ticket sales income and TV broadcast rights. This proposal was agreed by the FFIRI verbally and a contract was to be sent for approval and signature.

On the presentation of the formal contract, there was a clause about a payment of 75,000 Euros outstanding from the previous camp in Austria that the FFIRI has to settle. On being alerted to the clause, Ali Kaffashian had a change of heart as he is reluctant to pay (!) , hence his quote that the Chile match is not confirmed yet.

The federation has no choice but to pay the bill outstanding for a long time. Unless this bill is settled, there would be no match against Chile in Austria anytime soon.

It is amazing how a football federation that cannot pay a 75,000 Euro bill has the audacity to file to host the most prestigious Asian football tournament and expect to win against the UAE !

08/03/201508/03/2015

Fifa’s Sepp Blatter calls on Iran to end stadium ban for women

Sepp Blatter has asked Iran to end its ban on women watching football matches, describing the situation as intolerable.

“When I travelled to Iran in November 2013, I was not only confronted with huge popular enthusiasm from football but also a law forbidding women from attending football matches,” the Fifa president wrote in the governing body’s weekly magazine. “I raised the topic at my meeting with the president of Iran Hassan Rouhani, and came away with the impression that this intolerable situation could change over the medium term.

“However, nothing has happened. A collective ‘stadium ban’ still applies to women in Iran, despite the existence of a thriving women’s football organization. This cannot continue. Hence, my appeal to the Iranian authorities; open the nation’s football stadiums to women.”

During the Asian Cup in Australia this year, Iran’s support included thousands of women who were free to show up in Australia, without any dress restrictions. Their female supporters also become a big hit with local media, prompting the Iranian authorities to remind the players to be wary of posing for photographs that may be posted on social media.

Iran is bidding against the United Arab Emirates to host the 2019 Asian Cup and the ban on women is expected to damage their chances of being awarded the tournament.

Blatter also criticized the continental confederations for failing to elect any women on to the Fifa’s executive committee. The committee includes three women, one with voting rights and two co-opted but they are elected directly by the Fifa Congress following a change to the statutes in 2011.

“This was hard work because the members of Fifa’s executive committee are elected by the national associations in their [continental] Congresses and … there was never, never a proposal for a woman to be finally in Fifa,” Blatter told an event at Fifa headquarters in Zurich. “We had to take the decision, and I did it in 2011 at the end of the Congress, I said we must have at least one woman on the executive committee,” he said.

“In all the confederations, there is no woman … this macho sport, and that’s a pity, we should change in the future.”

25/01/2015

Why Iran’s bid to oust Iraq from Asian Cup failed?

From the evidence and documents that the Iranians provided to the AFC and prior to that to FIFA , much of it was seen by journalists , It seems that there is a genuine doping case with verified positive test results . Al’a AbdulZahra the 27-year-old Iraqi player was tested positive for banned stimulant methylhexaneamine, not only by the Iranian Doping commission, but also verified by a WADA-approved laboratory in Cologne, Germany.

By the time that the Cologne report was back, Al’a AbdulZahra abruptly left Tabriz under mysterious circumstances. His two years contract was cancelled by Tractorsazi. As such , the Iranian authorities and FFIRI , no longer had any jurisdiction on the Iraqi player who popped up in Baghdad , playing for the Police Club (Al Shorta).

According to the Iranian officials, the report and doping lab results on AbdulZahra was submitted to FIFA on September 2014 as mandated by the Games ruling body, and they left it at that.

FIFA did promised to act, but did not respond, verify or query the Iranian documents any further, according to the Iranian side, until the FFIRI once again contacted FIFA and demanded a response on January 21^st , 2015. The trail ends there as no one has seen any official response from FIFA.

There is very little doubt, if any, that AbdulZahra should be suspended according to the rules. However, suspension must be announced after investigations and a verdict from the ruling body , in this case FIFA. Those in corridors of power in FIFA failed to act and for that reason only, the case of Iran against Abdul Zahra was doomed to fail. The Iraq FA and the coach would not voluntarily suspend a valuable player unless there is a document and a ruling by FIFA or AFC. As long as there is nothing official, there is no case to answer.

AFC on the other hand, cannot overturn the result simply because there is no ruling. However , given all the documents and the doping results verified by approved WADA lab in Germany and still insisting that Abdul Zahra is clear to play the next match, leaves major questions unanswered about the legitimacy of this issue. We suspect that those in power in AFC know a few things about the law and would not act arbitrarily. AFC has not issued any communique regarding the subject (up to the time of writing this report) and no explanation was provided on reasons for rejection of Iran’s case. There has to be genuine reasons for it , that the Iranians officials have probably been informed about by AFC but it is not publicized yet.

In any case, these was serious doubt that Iraq would be thrown out from the moment that this issues was raised. We find that if there is a case, it is between FFIRI and FIFA , not with AFC or the AFC Asian Cup organizers.

24/01/201524/01/2015

Iran is taking up a doping allegation against an Iraqi player.

Mehdi Mohammad Nabi is in Sydney on an urgent mission to prove that an Iraqi player has been found doping and should have been ineligible from playing against Iran in the quarter final match on Friday.

Al’a Abdul Zahra , was a Tractrorsazi player in the Iranian league when a routine doping test was found to be positive by the Iranian doping commission. By the time samples were sent to Cologne Germany for further confirmation, the Iraqi player mysteriously disappeared and was released by his club to join Police Club (AlShorta) in Baghdad. The Iranians did not pursue the matter any further.

Now, FFIRI is asking the AFC to act on this matter and investigate the charges against the player. Apparently, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi has all the documented evidence to raise the case against the Iraqi player including test results from the laboratory in Cologne Germany.

Abdul-Zahra joined Tractorsazi on 20 July 2014 signing a two-year contract with the club. He played his first match for Tractorsazi on 8th of August 2014 against Zob Ahan. Just after a month with the Tabrizi club, he decided to leave. He was officially released on September 10th, 2014 under dubious circumstances.

Abdul-Zahra played for 65 minutes in the match against Iran before being substituted in the second half.

If the case against Abdul-Zahra is proven, Iran will be declared the winner of the match, however, chances of this happening is quite remote especially since the semifinals will be on Monday. Iran Squad was supposed to leave Sydney en route to Tehran this morning, Saturday.

[divider]

EXCLUSIVE: The AFC Asian Cup has been rocked by allegations that Iraq fielded an ineligible player in Friday’s dramatic quarter-final win over Iran.

By: Scott McIntyre

24 JAN 2015 – 7:39 PM

The complaint stems from an alleged doping violating during the time Abdul Zahra spent last year playing with Iranian club side Tractor Sazi.

An AFC spokesperson confirmed to TWG that it is aware of the case and is awaiting further information from FIFA.

Iraq beat Iran on penalties after a 3-3 draw in Canberra on Friday to earn the right to face Korea Republic in the semi-finals in Sydney on Monday.

It’s understood that the Iranian side has delayed its exit from Australia awaiting a response from the world governing body, which is expected on Saturday evening.

Iran’s National Anti-Doping Agency deputy Ramin Tabatabaei told news agency Tasnim that Abdul Zahra failed a drug test when he was playing in the country.

“I informed Mr Sajjadi (vice-president of Professional and Athletic Sports Development) when we understood Team Melli would play Iraq in the quarter-final,” Tabatabaei said.