In what is one of the darkest hours of Iran’s football history, the Olympic Team (Omid) lost to lowly Myanmar in the final match of Group F of the Asian Games 2018. The loss was in full intention and for unashamed purpose.

Myanmar, who had 1 point from a draw with North Korea, scored 2 goals against Iran in the second half and was so close to qualifying if they would have scored a third.

It is not the loss that was alarming, but a performance by 11 footballers full of deception, dishonestly, lack of sportsmanship and fraud. Not a single player in Iran team gave his best, while one of the young men, Mehdi Ghayedi thought he was Lionel Messi for the day by the way he was playing!

This was a profligate, wasteful .and complacent performance by Iran’s football. It was an insult to a nation which adores football and considers the players as heroes.

In this competition, the Asian Games , where Olympic Spirit and values are upheld, athletes should participate and try their best. Olympics seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.

Iran football team displayed none of those by purposely seeking to drop the match in order for a better chance of qualification.

It the worst performance in every department, ethics, principles, skills, and effort(complete  lack of it)

In a gamble and orchestrated act by Team Manager Estili and Coach Kranjcar, both of them deserve to be stripped from their titles, the objective was to be lead the team for the ideal result which was to be second and hence avoid the South Korean team in the next round.

As Karma and justice would have it, not only Iran ashamedly lost to Myanmar by deception and cheating , the results of the other game, 3-0 win for North Korea over Saudi Arabia, meant Iran still lead the group while  Estili , Kranjcar and all other player who contributed to this fallacy and purposely lost the match, have be men enough and Face South Korea.

If they lose, they have t to pack their bags with head drops and leave the games and let true Iranian athletes like the wrestlers, weightlifters and the heroes of other sports , win medals with pride.

The Hypocrisy of Hamid Estili ,  describing the result of the North Koreans Saudi match as a collusion and conspiracy, was nothing short of comical and duplicity.

A black day in Iran’s football, indeed