Tag: Azadi Stadium

Kenya, to meet Team Melli in Azadi.

According to a news report, the Kenyan Football Federation officially announced that the national team of Kenya will face Iran on March 28th  in an international friendly match at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.

Before this, Iran’s national team has a match arranged against Russia on March 23rd at Azadi Stadium. Amir Ghalenoei will lead Team Melli for the first time since his recent appointment as Head Coach.

Kenya’s national team, Harambee Stars, will flex muscles with Iran in an international friendly on March 28, Football Kenya Federation chief executive officer, Barry Otieno has confirmed. Stars will travel to Tehran for the match as they make their comeback to the international stage after being banned by the world football governing body, Fifa, in February of last year.

Otieno has urged Kenyans to rejoice over the national team’s return after a year away, adding that the friendly will be the ideal chance for them to freshen up after getting rusty from inactivity. “On March 28, the Harambee Stars return to the pitch for the first time in over a year. This is a big moment for Kenya. I expect a great match and urge all Kenyans to rally behind the team so that we can move forward together,” Otieno remarked.

The FKF boss said they would deploy every resource at their disposal to help Kenya qualify for the next Africa Cup of Nations.

National team head coach Engin Firat welcomed the fixture, saying Iran will provide a good test for Kenya. “Iran is a World Cup nation and is ranked 24th in the world. Playing them in our first match back after suspension will help us assess where we are which is the first step in rebuilding the team and working our way to a high level of competitiveness,” Firat said.

“It is important to keep the team engaged and to keep working so that we can play at a good level when we return.” The Turkish gaffer revealed he will name the provisional squad on Thursday morning, before the start of a residential training camp on March 19.

Engin Firat, has previous coaching experience in Iran’s Saipa and Sepahan clubs. Firat was also the assistant of Ali Daei on the Iranian national team at one point in time.

Iran and Kenya have met twice with both matches played in Iran with Iran also winning them both.

 

 

IRAN v KENYA

Head2Head

FIFA Ranking:

Iran – 24th  [1551 pts]
Kenya -101 [1202 pts]

Date Comp. H / A / N Final score Stadium Attendance
14.03.2009 Friendly H 1 – 0 Azadi Stadium, Tehran 6500
21.04.1997 Friendly / Friendly H 3 – 0 Tabriz 42000

Iraq announxces a friendly game agaibst coach-less Iran!

The Iraqi Football Federation board convened for a meeting yesterday, and one of the topics raised in this meeting was the holding of a warm-up game with the Iranian national team.

According to the announcement of the Iraqi Federation, the country’s national football team plans to hold two warm-up matches against Iran and Thailand in Baghdad in April. Iraqi media have reported that the country’s federation insists that the match against Iran be played in Baghdad, but Iran’s request is to play at Azadi Stadium. Meanwhile, Iran’s national football team has not announced its head coach after being eliminated from the World Cup and the departure of Carlos Queiroz, and it is not clear when and who approved the match against Iraq as FFIRI as usual keeps everything a secret due to it historic poor public relations department. Iraq recently hosted the Persian Gulf Cup recently and won the championship in a dramatic match against Branko Ivankovic’s Oman.

Iranian female fans allowed entry into Azadi Stadium

About 500 Esteghlali female fans were allowed entry into Azadi Stadium in the third week of the Persian Gulf Premier League game.

Esteghlal played Mes Kerman on Thursday in the first match of the third week of the premier football league. This match is the first appearance of women in League games as excited female spectators arraives at the gates of Azadi Stadium as early as three hours before the game’s kick-off. 500 tickets were allocated for the women’s section and were sold on the spot, but over 50 female fans were unable to get tickets. This group gathered around the entrance gate number 21 on the east side of Azadi Stadium in the hope of gaining entry.

It is reported that 30 of the female fans who did not hold tickets, finally managed to sneak in with the help of the gatekeepers and staff. While some lucky ladies were able to enter Azadi Stadium by different means, nearly 20 of them failed despite their efforts. Meanwhile, some crooks took advantage of the women’s desperation to attend the match in Azadi Stadium and sold men’s section tickets, while these tickets were of no use to the women.

Before the start of the game, the female fans strongly cheered Esteghlal players. Also, Esteghlal Head Coach Sapinto and Esteghlal’s bench walked towards the females’ section before the kickoff, where they were greeted by the cheering female fans. During the game, the men cheered on both sides of the stadium with the help of the women. In addition to cheering for the late Esteghlal coach Mansoor Pourheidari in the 22nd minute,

It was a momentous occasion for the female fans of Esteghlal who finally managed to break the ban, albeit thanks to the threat by FIFA to suspend Iran football for breaking its regulation by not allowing women into stadiums.

Although allocating 500 seats for females in a 100,000-capacity stadium seems to be lacking, it is a good start for the passionate Iranian female fans who were colorful and cheering, energizing the stadium despite their small numbers.

Another twist in the tale of women entry into stadiums.

The Minister of Sports, Hamid Sajjadi once again highlighted the reluctance of the regime in allowing women entry into the stadium. The tactics of procrastinating the issue have been Modus Operandi of the authorities whose clerical hierarchy strongly oppose the presence of women in stadium calling it a sin and a corrupt act. Faced with pressure from FIFA, Iran has exceptionally allowed the presence of women in Azadi on one occasion. However, the authorities have been coming up with all sorts of excuses to procrastinate the issue for as long as they could.

In response to FIFA’s letter about allowing women entry into football stadiums during league competitions, the Minister of Youth and Sports Sajjadi said: “FIFA has proposed the presence of women in league competitions in its letter. I emphasize that FIFA’s letter was only a recommendation. We are following up to identify stadiums that have proper infrastructure and meet the conditions of the supreme religious Council, security, and law enforcement guidelines. Meetings have already started in this regard and it had nothing to do with FIFA’s letter. When we started this work, they said that a couple of years ago, arrangements were made for allowing women into the stadiums at both national team and club competitions. We also follow the same arrangements and if a commitment was made and something was signed, it was from Iran. After all, this is the name of Iran and it doesn’t matter if I am a minister or someone else. They have talked about this. Because of the FIFA guidelines, then it has to be followed one by one. For example, FIFA says that certain standards must be applied in the stadiums for the spectators’ safety, the parking and dressing rooms should be like this, and the standards of the stadiums should be like that”.

The Derby ends in a draw with little to shout about.

The much anticipated Tehran Derby between Esteghlal and Persepolis was played on Thursday in Azadi Stadium and ended in a 1-1 draw. The importance of this derby was due to the fierce rivalry between the two teams at the top of the league table, allowing fans entry into Azadi and the selection of players for Team Melli.

Despite the restriction on the number of fans allowed into the stadium, the effect on the atmosphere and the players of the two teams was quite significant as the match was a thrilling contest from the word go. It is estimated that 20,000 fans were presently divided equally between the two teams’ supporters while thousands waited outside Azadi and in the perimeters.

The pace of the game was fast and furious, which excited the fans, but there were very few tactics and beautiful moves in the game.  From the onset, the game was spoilt by the continuous protests from players and the bench every time the referee whistled for a foul!

There is little to write about the positive side of this game despite its importance. Errors in passing, poor finishing, wild tackles, lack of basics of football was quite vivid in this game. Even allowing for the sensitivity of the match, there were numerous schoolboy errors by what was supposed to be a match between the two top teams in the country. The finishing in front of the goal was truly embarrassing and comical. In general, the match was not a good advertisement for Iran’s football whose national team has just qualified for the FIFA World Cup.

The biggest criticism, however, must be fired towards the two coaches of Persepolis and Esteghlal. Golmohammadi and Majidi. Two ex- Team Melli teammates from the same era, have stepped up to coaching without solid groundwork.  They both have a lot to learn in football management but more significantly in anger management and behavior.

From the start of the match, the bench of both teams was the catalyst in bringing the game into disruptions by their constant protests and violations.  lack of manners, shouting, threatening behavior, and the attempt of Golmohammdi to physically attack the referee resembled a scene from a gangster movie rather than a football pitch.

Golmohammadi was dismissed but it was far too late from a feeble referee who could have acted much firmly early on and could easily award a few cards of different colors earlier in the game.

GolMohammadi’s behavior was not befitting a professional coach and his loss of control in front of the camera watched by millions globally, should give the club an indication that the man is emotionally not fit to lead a big club at big events. Majidi is in a similar boat however, he escaped being sent to the stands for being able to control his temper earlier on after a stern warning from the referee.

The weakness of the FFIRI against the top teams is well documented in Iran. Persepolis and Esteghlal are simply too big for the feeble federation. The disciplinary Committee has historically shown reluctance in awarding heavy fines when Persepolis or Esteghlal are involved. Any final ruling would always end up being either appealed and reduced or dismissed altogether.

Skocic “The conditions are not ideal”

Dragan Skocic, in the pre-match press conference, said: “It is definitely not an ideal situation, but if my players stick to the plan and give it their best, we can finish the game successfully.”

 “As you know, tomorrow’s game is very important because we can seal our qualification. I saw the Iraq games in the FIFA Arab Cup. I know they are a young and tough team. Conditions are not ideal for us. We do not have 4 players due to Positive PCR tests. Mehdi Taremi has not joined us yet. However, our players are ready and capable. The team that we have is good enough.”

Asked about the next games and what changes he is implementing “My main concern is tomorrow’s game. After this game, we think about other games and how we can move forward. We will definitely have changes in the team. Each player who plays has his own unique characteristics. That’s why we may not appear with the usual squad, but I’m sure all the players will play with all their strength and we can get off the field with our heads held up high.”

Commenting on the invitation of Hossein Kananizadegan, who is sanctioned by the disciplinary committee for inappropriate and divisive comments he made, and how this situation differs from Taremi’s disciplinary action, He said ” I must say that moral principles are very important for my team and for myself. If there is one thing that is a priority, it is ethics, discipline, and behavior. We must be careful because we represent our country. I do not agree with such alleged behavior, and this behavior may be far from honorable on the part of this player, but at the same time,  we have not received any credible evidence or instructions from the disciplinary committee on his case. It seems like the case is still open and being discussed in the ethics committee. I do not want to punish or judge anyone for talking in cyberspace and Instagram and retaliate prematurely. This situation was an opportunity to know our responsibility to the country and the people and to be careful about our behavior, and this is a lesson for others to be careful that this does not happen. “

For the record, Taremi was disciplined by Skocic for commenting on social media, which Skocic just said he must be careful not to punish a player on that basis. It is a case of double-standard in fairness.

The Croat Head coach then talked about Azmoun’s case and Zenit’s opposition to Sardar joining the national team camp and also the possibility of adding Azmoun and Hajjasfi to the squad for the UAE match: “This club (Zenit) can not do that. Our game is on FIFA Day and the club has no rights whatsoever to stop a national team player from joining his National Team. We have to review the FIFA & AFC rules regarding players who recover from a positive test and the subsequent tests prove negative. The players you mentioned are not available to us right now. We have to see if we can use them for the next game. “

“Every coach brings new things to the team,” Skocic said of his knowledge of the current Iraqi coach, Željko Petrović from Montenegro, who previously played for Dinamo Zagreb and also coached in Croatia for some time. “He (Petrović ) has rejuvenated his team. When he played for Dynamo, I was in Rijeka and I have a history of facing him.”

“Our team is ready and we know what we want from tomorrow’s game.” He was asked whether the substitutes in his team will have the same quality as the absent players and whether we will see a surprise selection in Team Melli. “I do not think the unexpected will happen,” he said. “We are still one night away from the game and it will be a long night for me to reach the final conclusion. It is clear that the Azmoun is difficult to replace. With these interpretations, the team that will be fielded will be on the game with all its energy and we will have the necessary quality. “

In response to whether the Football Federation could not have done better planning for the presence of players in the national team so that players like Mehdi Tarmi in Turkey would not be caught due to the weather? “The issue you are talking about is the federation’s duty to plan, and I know they did their best,” he said. “Taremi is our key player. I do not specialize in weather forecasting and for this, I am not in a press conference”

Latest on Team Melli

Dragan Skocic recalled two players from the standby list while including a previously unlisted Perspolis midfielder to the squad.

  • Farshad Faraji was called by Team Melli to fill in for the absent players while Aghasi, Rafei, and Kamiabinia have been added to the party. While Taremi is on the squad, his flight was disrupted as the airplane taking him from Portugal to Istanbul was diverted after the icy weather in the airport closed the runway. Taremi’s flight landed at Dalman Airport in southwest Turkey near Bodrum and he like the other passengers are stranded there awaiting a flight and weather improvement.
  • The match on Thursday will be refereed by the Australian Christopher James Beath.

  • There is still no confirmation on whether the spectators will be allowed or not for the Iraq match. Most probably, a 20% max number of spectators may be allowed in provided the passengers are vaccinated according to the latest requirements of health protocols.
  • Tuesday’s training session was attended by 17 players and was carried out in Azadi Stadium.
  • The Iraqi squad had 5 positive PCR tests on arrival at Imam Airport in Tehran. After protesting the results, another test was carried out with one positive result. Further request to repeat the test was not entertained again. Iraq has a new coach in the Montenegran  Željko Petrović. This will be Iraq’s third coach in the qualifiers after Katanec (Slovenia) and Dick Advocaat (Netherlands).
  • The revised list of invited players:
    • Goalkeepers:
  1. Alireza Biranvand
  2. Amir Abedzadeh
  3. Payam Niazmand
    • Defenders:
  4. Sadegh Moharremi
  5. Hossein Kananizadegan
  6. Shoja’a Khalilzadeh
  7. Omid Nourafkan
  8. Milad Mohammadi
  9. Siavash Yazdani
  10. Saleh Hardani
  11. Aref Aghasi
  12. Farshad Faraji
    • Midfielders:
  13. Saeed Ezatollahi
  14. Milad Sarlak
  15. Soroush Rafiei
  16. Kamal Kamyabinia
  17. Vahid Amiri
  18. Mehdi Torabi
  19. Saman Ghoddos
  20. Ali Gholizadeh
    • Forwards:
  21. Karim Ansarifard
  22. Alireza Jahanbakhsh
  23. Kaveh Rezaei
  24. Mehdi Ghaedi
  25. Shahab Zahedi
  26. Mehdi Taremi (Not available)

 

the Standby List: Mohammadreza Akhbari, Danial Ismailifard, Zubair Nikonfs,

FFIRI planning early qualification ceremony

While the Football fans in Iran are still awaiting the approval of the National Headquarters against Corona to attend Team Melli’s upcoming matches against Iraq and the UAE, The football federation is planning early qualification to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

the Iranian Football Federation has prepared so that it can hold the best possible ceremony with the presence of special guests. Shahabuddin Azizi Khadem, President of the FFIRI, who had two meetings with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, invited him to watch one of the matches of the Iranian national team on 27th January or 2nd February, which, according to the federation’s website, was agreed by FIFA President. Infantino has moved his headquarters to Doha to oversee the progress and preparation for the World Cup 2022.

The reduction in the number of deaths in the country due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus also raised the hopes of the Football Federation to get approval from the health authorities in the country allowing the attendance of fans in Azadi Stadium, even with limited numbers. It is alleged that the National Headquarters against Corona has verbally agreed to a 30% attendance at all football stadiums, but such instructions have not yet been transmitted t to the Ministry of Sports and then to the Football Federation. On the other hand, the coronavirus mutation called “omicron” has become a serious challenge for the presence of special guests. With 5 days left to play Iraq and 10 days to meet the UAE, Infantino has not yet officially responded to the Iranian Federation’s request to be in Tehran.

 

However, the public relations department of the Football Federation will continue monitoring developments in this issue until 24 hours before each game. Considering the possibility of Infantino’s imminent trip and the possibility of announcing his readiness, the possibility of the presence of male and female fans in the upcoming matches of the Iranian national team is not certain. Ali Azari Jahromi, the government spokesman, announced last Tuesday that a special meeting had been held between the president of the football federation, the Minister of Sports to prepare for the matches, however, with four days left, there is no sign of online sales of the tickets for the Iraq and UAE matches.

The Iranian national football team will host Iraq on the 27th of January at Azadi Stadium. The victory for Dragan Skucic’s team in each of these matches will result in the early Qualifications of Team Melli to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Skocic consciously reduced number of midfield players.

The head coach of Team Melli says that he knows that his team has a problem in the middle of the field.

According to ISNA, the Iranian national football team stopped today (Tuesday) in its fourth match in the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar against South Korea with a result of one, one.

“In the first half, we realized that we had a problem in the middle of the field and we tried to reduce the distance between the Iranian and Korean players by making changes,” Iran’s coach Dragan Skocic told a news conference after the match.

“We knew we had a three-on-three duel in the middle of the field. In the second half, we had a better view with the addition of the Nourafkan. In the first half, I was aware that if the two strikers went forward, the balance would be upset, but I did it consciously.”

“All the players did their best,” commenting in a question about Sardar Azmoun’s performance

“Today was not the best day for Sardar, but he is one of our most important and key players. His goal in the previous stage made us reach this stage of the competition and continue the dream. “

Asked what he expects ahead for his team and its mission to qualify for the World Cup, Skocic said explained: “I am not satisfied with the result of today’s draw and I am not convinced, but I must say that Korea was a great team and has world-class players. Today’s game was against our direct opponent. We move forward with positive thinking and we are alert to the shortcomings and need to solve the team’s problems and have a better performance.”

Asked if he was surprised in the first half against Korea, Skocic said: “If you had listened to me, you would have realized that we were not surprised. We consciously decided to have more players on the offensive line and the reason for that was to increase the pressure on their defenses. But when we realized that such a plan is upsetting the team balance, we changed the tactics. We were ready for other events. I repeat that I deliberately reduced the number of midfielders and it was a risk that I accepted as head coach.“

Why is the match tomorrow in Azadi closed to the fans?

If you have been following the events of Iran’s football lately, you must have heard the good news of Azadi being opened for a limited percentage of its capacity for fans under the strict protocols. The requirement of AFC includes 2 shots of COVID19 vaccinations amongst a list of other requirements. The opening of the Azadi gate was given by  FFIRI President Aziz Khadem and the Minister of Youth and Sports, Sajjadi.

48 hours before the match, there was a U-turn as FFIRI announced that Azadi will not be open to the fans after all. The football federation did not specifically mention the reason for the change of heart but leaks from FFIRI headquarters insinuated that due to some administrative difficulties, the FFIRI is not in full compliance and therefore no fans can be allowed to enter the stadium for the match against Korea Rep which has to be conducted behind closed doors.

in a matter of minutes, accusations of incompetence, lying, and downright ineptitude were thrown at the football federation in social media plus some semi-official media outlets leading the masses to believe that the failure to adhere to the AFC health protocol is the direct responsibility of the federation with their late application for authorization being one of the main reasons.

 Somehow, this account of administrative failure did not make sense. Many sources, including the FFIRI itself, have declared that the application was sent ahead of time, so there was no question of delay. Like always in Iran, one has to dig quite deep to get to the truth and this one is no exception.

ISNA sport corrospondance said

“While Team Melli fans were rejoicing and preparing to buy tickets to enter Azadi Stadium and celebrate the end of the two-year absence from the stadium, the Football Federation, after two months of storytelling, was finally unable to exercise its full right of hosting, and now Team Melli will be deprived of the support of the fans in one of the major Asian classic encounters.”

“It seems that mismanagement and lack of planning have taken root in Iranian football and this football is not going to breathe new life by changing its management. In the absence of infrastructure and financial resources, the fans are the only important and reliable assets of Iranian football. Thanks to the shortcomings and empty promises of the managers of the Football Federation, Team Melli will be deprived of this valuable capital in the match against South Korea. In the World Cup qualifiers, Iran is only host on paper.”

There is no argument about the incompetence of the federations managers, as the ISNA reporter rightly stated, but after some in-depth inquiry and insiders info, this time it seems that the federation was not that incompetent to be unable to get the process right for a straight forward authorization application from AFC. It is not rocket science after all as even FFIRI can complete it!.

So, what is the real reason for preventing the fans?

There are several theories but the one that is closet to reality in our opinion is the FIFA pressure on Iran to allow women entry into the stadium.

It was only in June that FIFA applied pressure to ensure that Iran allows female fans and expected the authorities to comply, or else. Under Rouhani women were allowed for a couple of matches, but now with Ebrahim Raisi in power, a hardline cleric who was previously head of the country’s judiciary, and has ultra-conservative political views the situation has changed, to the worst. Images of Iranian females waving flogs, taking selfies, wearing lipsticks, or cheering their national team, do not fit the bill. It could also be due to pressure from his hardliner peers’ which has forced the authorities from rescinding the agreement or the promise given to FIFA.

Allowing women in stadiums in Iran in 2019 for the first time since the revolution. was a personal triumph for the Chief of FIFA after a strong reminder from the World Football governing body that Iran would face expulsion from the World Cup if they do not follow the FIFA rules. “Fifa’s stance on the access of women to the stadiums in Iran has been firm and clear: women have to be allowed into football stadiums in Iran. For all football matches,” Fifa had said in a statement at the time.

So, Covid is one great convenient and timely excuse for the authorities to dodge the issue and close the great Azadi for everyone.  Technically speaking, Iran has not broken FIFA rules on women in stadiums.

It can be easily said that Iran has outfoxed FIFA, AFC, Infantino, and everyone else by this simple step. Iran cannot be sanctioned because this step does not target women only but everybody.

After all, the west has experienced firsthand the cunning and skills of the Iranian while negotiating the JCPOA. The Iranians managed to settle everything and agree on terms in 2015 only for one not-so-smart Donald Trump, a shallow person, an inexperienced politician,  to tear it off thinking that he can outsmart the Iranians by quitting the pact and exerting more pressure demanding more strict terms.

History says Iranians did not budge and did not accept the blackmail while it witnessed Trump’s failure. The businessman President of the USA could not outdo the Iranians and it seems like FIFA, a much less of an adversary to the Americans, will see the same fate. After all, they are dealing with carpet merchants with a tradition dating thousands of years.