The name of 21 player has been disclosed by the Football league commission as holding fake certificates of Military End of Service.
A two years mandatory military service is still a requirement for Iranian Males and usually starts after school graduation. Under certain circumstances like illness or complicated family issues, a waiver can be given by the government.
Some time ago, rumors have started that many Iranian players are holding fake “Certificate of End of Service” or “Certificate of Waiver” that is issued by the Military authorities. The strong rumors prompted the Football League to investigate and examine the certificates. It is not clear whether this examination has been applied across the board or only on certain suspects cases.
The Football league, thereafter publicized the name of the 21 players that included current Team Melli players. The FFIRI has limited authority on the subject and does not have any legal power beyond requiring these players to play for teams with a military background.
This is another oddity of Iran’s football, as the players under military service are allowed to play what is theoretically a full professional career, yet also carry out a full time military duty! In reality, famous players, hardly do any Military or community service as dictated by law and instead they play professional football for military teams before being allowed to return to their original clubs.
The identification of Military teams is another subject that it has never been cleared by the lawmakers. Tractorsazi Tabriz, and Malvan Bandar Anzali are considered as military team, although ther association with the armed forces are vaguely defined. Malvan used to be the Navy team but it has been released to the Anzali Duty Free zone for a few years now.
It is not clear whether the Iranian Prosecutor General or the District Attorney of the government will take any action against the violators or persons who issued the fake certificates, a crime punishable by law.
Among the published list, there are 3 current Team Melli players , AliReza Haghighi who played all the 3 matches in the World Cup , Bakhtiar Rahmani and Hossein Mahini
Other Team Melli players are Ali HAMOUDI and Arash AFSHIN.
Two young team players are also included Milad Gharibi and Shahab Karami.
It seems that from the number of players involved from the South , the Master producer of fake documents , doesn’t live far from Ahvaz where he seemed to have done a good business but definitely illegal and fraudulent acts.!