The usual disarray and confusion surfaced again in Team Melli on the eve of the match against Chile.

Ehsan Hajsafy was sent back to Iran due to an injury. Apparently, this injury was not suffered during the last game of Sepahan in the league . In that televised game, Hajsafy was visibly in severe pain in what looked like a twisted knee or a hamstring injury but had to continue playing, albeit at a much lower mobility and effectiveness, until the end of the match. However, when his name was announced for the Chile and Sweden matches, neither the player himself nor the medical staff of  Sepahan declared Hajsafy as injured or recuperating from injury.  Team Melli management naturally dependent on the clubs to inform them about any injury sustained by players and the degree of severity. Hajsafy travelled to Austria as a fit player, while he has not fully recovered.

During the training Austria  , it became apparent  to the coaching staff that this player if far from fit and incapable of playing in a high level match therefore it was decided to send him back home for treatment.

To fill the gap, Queiroz asked for Yaghoub Karimi , Esteghlal’s midfield player, if medically fit to play, which he was according to the medial report of Esteghlal Doctor issued right after the last league game against Naft Teahran.

When Esteghlal management was formally informed about the requirement of Yaghoub Karimi for Team Melli duty , Esteghlal team supervisor called Kaffashian to inform him that Yaghoub Karimi is unfit to travel to Sweden in contrary to the medial status report of Esteghlal Medical Examiner Dr. Setoudeh.

It is difficult to assume who is telling the truth. It is also more difficult to understand why truth is a rare commodity in Iran’s football. Why would a player not reveal the extent of his injury ? Why did he travel when not fully fit? Why hide information from Team Mell?

Carlos Queiroz must shoulder part of the responsibilities himself. Although it is inexcusable to lie or falsify facts, Queiroz has left little margin of trust between himself and the local club coaches. It could be speculative, but his strong verbal attack on Ghalenoei & Derakhshan in Australia after the elimination of Team Melli , did not endear himself  to Esteghlal or Persepolis coaches and fans. Expecting full cooperation by these two clubs with Queiroz is somehow unreasonable.