The Croat coach has given Ali Kaffashian and the football federation up to this weekend to decide on his approval and appointment as the head coach of Omid Team (U23) else he will be responding to other offers. Peykan is the prime candidate for the services of the Zlatko Kranjčar and has been quite active in pursuing him following the sacking of their coach, Mansour Ebrahimzadeh last week.
Kranjčar was all set to join the FFIRI as a coach with approvals granted internally with in the federation administrations including the president himself. However, a telephone call from the Ministry of Youth and Sport put a halt to all that. A day after Kaffashian confirmed to the press that Kranjcar is appointed he retreated and changed his wording by claiming that there are a few pending issues!
It is not clear what objection the Ministry has against Kranjcar appointment. Although the international football laws of FIFA prohibits government interference in football and has already sanctioned Iran for doing so right after the World Cup 2006, such meddling and imposition is quite common under the table and behind closed doors. With a submissive and compliant management at the helm of FFIRI, the decision making process of the federation must seek the blessing and approval of the Minister before implementation, else the wrath of the Ministry.
Despite the on-going denials of the Ministry and its legal arm, it is a common knowledge that Minister , Mahmoud Goudarzi was instrumental in delaying the finalization of Queiroz contact until the 11th hours. The Minster of Youth and Sports has been quite active in manipulating managerial and coaching position in its two prize assets, Persepolis and Esteghlal which are authoritatively, wholly owned by the government.
Mahmoud Goudarzi , a former wrestler, was the fourth candidate that was suggested by President Hassan Rouhani to the Parliament for approval as Minister of Youth and Sport. 3 previous candidates of the President were rejected by the parliament. Iran is the only Middle East country that has such a democratic system. Mahmoud Goudarzi won the approval by a small margin.