Tehran
This is a direct quote by one Houshang Nasirzadeh , who is identified as the legal adviser to the Iranian football federation( FFIRI), to ISNA reporter after an inquiry about the legality of Khalatbary’s transfer to Perspolis well past the closing window of players transfer deadline.
Nasirzadeh said that Khalatbary can play for Perspolis against Esteghlal as there is no objection from the federation. When challenged by the reporter that this is against the regulations that he and his federation are supposed to uphold and protect, Nasirzadeh admitted that Khalabary is a special case for the federation because of national interest! “In any case the regulators have decided that Khalatbary must not play in the UAE league at any cost!”
Nasirzadeh even went further to claim that “Khalatbary’s presence in Iran is like defending the honor of the nation. This is what the president and the executive committee has declared.”
The federation regulation states that a player cannot officially participate in matches for a team until mid-season if his signature was obtained after the transfer window deadline.
In another controversial statement, the legal adviser
said that “the deduction of one point from Esteghlal due to the misbehavior of the fans during a match, is unheard of anywhere in the World. This punitive action is a mistake (…) and it should be corrected as soon as possible in order not to victimize other teams.”
Why this person, a legal advisor, whose job is to ensure compliance with regulations and laws by the federation, did not prevent the federation from applying the “Wrong rule” according to him , is beyond comprehension. Why did he not inform the disciplinary committee about any discrepancy n this clause of the disciplinary acts, which was approved a few months back, is also a mystery.
Why can one player, who has already received his cut from the transfer fee, somehow manages to fork out US$500,000 from someone’s else pocket to return back to Iran, while a whole Team Melli squad of 23 players, who are the true pride of the nation, cannot afford a simple training camp costing way less than Khalatabary’s transfer, is another enigma! Someone must be accountable, and all fingers are pointing towards the FFIRI.
Such contempt of the system, regulations Violation and law breaking and presenting it to the public as “serving the national interest “ is an insult to the people’s intelligence. The tumultuous and unorthodox acts, currently prevailing in Iran’s football federation has been either unchallenged, or mildly so. It is about time that someone holds this federation accountable and answerable to the public for their disreputable conduct.
If this federation truly seeks to protect the honor of the nation, then it should have first and utmost, provided the basic support for the National Team to set up a camp which has much higher priority than a single player’s problem/interest, that somehow and by some divine acts, suddenly turns into a “national honor issue!”