Vahid Jaafary , the Middle East Area Director of the German sports goods manufacturer uhlsport Gmbh has confirmed that he is pursuing his complaints against Ali Daei and Amir Ghalenoei in courts and in the disciplinary Committee of FFIRI.

The source of the problem is related to Amir Ghalenoei allegation that uhlsport is a Mafia (…) while Ali Daei bad mouthing the company and insinuating corruptions in the deal that was signed between the German sporting goods company and the Iranian football federation.

Jaafary said that his company is taking these accusations very seriously and the people behind it are accountable. “When In Germany, Daei will be held accountable for tarnishing the image of a business without proof. You have accepted a sponsorship deal, but then someone without any proof or evidence, suddenly turns up and publically slanders the company”.

Jaafary, referring to his live debate with Ali Daei, Perspolis Manager  in Navad TV show, said “How is it possible to sponsor a whole football league if there is no commercial benefits behind it ?. But saying that , we are strong enough to take losses in order to promote our brand. That is what commerce is all about.  When Daei himself claimed unpaid wages from the Football Federation , he did everything he could to recover his money. “

In response to Daei claim that some personnel in the Federation and the League commission are working  to safeguard uhlsport interest,  Jaafary said  The some officials he was referring to is Aziz Mohammadi , but if you journalists have received any share or a commission from this deal , then this  gentleman  (Aziz Mohammadi)  has also received his share!!. Jaafary was sarcastically referring to another veiled accusation by Daei of under the table payment to the federation officials. Daei demanded that the Internal Audit of the government, investigate this contract between uhlsport and the FFIRI. In response, Jaafary said he welcomes any type of official investigation carried out by recognized authorities and welcomes scrutinizing the clauses of the contract. “We have nothing to hide and I personally, as an Iranian , would have much preferred to award our sponsorship to my country to gain the benefits rather than any other Arab country.”

 uhlsport  Gmbh Middle East director said: If it was not for the encouragement and support of  Kaffashian and  Aziz Mohammadi  in the past couple of seasons, we would have left Iran altogether. There were people who even threatened my life as we competed for business.

He told ISNA ” I was waiting to sign a sponsorship  contract with Team Melli for several years.  I read in some newspapers that Team Melli is purchasing its kit from Daei’s company. I flew from Dubai to Iran to meet with MohammadNabi and informed him that Team Melli is a known brand, are we so wretched that our national teams buy its team uniforms while other countries , less prominent than Iran in football,  are getting the kits for free and being paid for wearing the brand?  We owe it to Daei, Nabi replied to me. Later on I found out that Daei was getting paid as a coach and also getting paid for supplying the Team Melli kits.”

“Even after he left Team Melli, the team was still using his kit. Kaffashian realized that there is a much better opportunity and hence we signed a sponsorship contact with the federation. If there are better offers than ours, then we certainly have no objection for the FFIRI to sign a deal with a competitor provided it is genuine competition and not a result of smear campaign.” Jaafary said.

Jafari , addressing Ali Daei , said “ you have been a hero for Iran all your life. At one stage you even continued playing in a match with a  ruptured spleen  , but now I don’t know what happened that you will not think of the interest of your country but only your own financial benefits and personal interest. You even lodged complaints in foreign countries against your own. I hope people realize our interest and commitment in this sponsorship.” Jaafary said in his own company’s promoting against Daei.

Replying to the accusation of Amir Ghalenoei that his club Esteghlal , using uhlsport  jerseys is of a low quality and reflective , Jaafary said that “without a shadow of a doubt , none of our products are manufactured locally here in Iran. All these jerseys and kits are manufactured in China and we are willing to compare them with the best that other companies and competitors can provide including the one’s the Ghalenoei used last year in Esteghlal.”

Jafari said the jerseys they are providing Esteghlal are green phosphor, not reflective clothing as claimed by Ghalenoei .  “When the guy does not find anything viable to complain about, he complains about such things. The wrong stuff. Every season we provide the club with our catalog. We have 30 different colors in our catalog for the club to choose from. When the CEO of the club chooses such color, how can we shoulder the blame. We have not forced anything on the club.”

Daei is the owner of a large chain of Sport goods shops and manufacturer and distributor of kits. Daei Company is also the official agent for Adidas, the famous German company and a competitor of uhlsport.

Interestingly enough , uhlsport does not advertise Iranian or Team Melli kits on its website. Also the dealership for Iran has a Dubai,  UAE address, not any Iranian city. It is believed that this is the first time uhlsport will get the World Cup exposure with the sponsorship of Team Melli.