Tag: Goudarzi

Sajjadi “We will pursue Queiroz, if evidence is presented!”

Deputy Minister of Youth Sports said “if evidence is presented against Carlos Queiroz violating our values, we will deal with him as we did with others!”

The veiled threat to the Portuguese coach came in the aftermath of the public prosecution of Zlatko Kranjcar, in which the ministry of youth & Sport has accused the Croat coach of consuming alcohol in players’ dressing room!

Nassrollah Sajjadi, like his boss Goudarzi , who has not made any great attempts to conceal his contempt towards football , starting from Kaffashian and his administration to the footballers and coaches in club and Team Melli, has once again wielded the sword of threat. Not only this ministry has said little to praise anyone related to football, it has consistently been hostile and hardly screened their disapproval of Carlos Queirroz and Zlatko Kranjcar.

Sepahan CEO Merhrzad Khalilian with Zlatko Krajncar

The Ministry of Youth & Sports has been widely criticized and ridiculed for their narrow-minded and immoral way they dealt with Kranjcar in which the most basic of human rights has been disregarded by a Ministry. One of the sharpest reaction was that of the Sepahan CEO Mehrzad Khalilian who called the accusation that Kranjcar consumed alcohol in his team’s dressing room as fabricated , fraudulent and uncivilized. Even the government supporting media has been vocal in their criticism of a Ministry that has installed itself as the judge, the jury and executioner of morality cases thereby over-stepping its authority that is the function and responsibility of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic.

After that episode with Kranjcar, while being reminded about the cultural differences of foreign coaches , the Ministry to be seen as applying their own version of law on everyone, now is in pursuit of Carlos Queiroz for the same reasons as Kranjcar!

As if the never ending problems with Team Melli ahead of the Asian Cup are not enough, now Queiroz has to deal with this side issue and this lot!

Mayeli-Kohan incarcerated.

Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan was summoned to a police station in Tehran where he was arrested , hand-cuffed and sent to the notorious Evin prison to serve jail sentence of 4 months.

The jail sentence is the result of a judge verdict against the former Team Melli coach following a law suit raised by another former Team Melli coach Ali Daei for slander & defamation.  The two have been embroiled in a long dispute, much of it initiated by Mayeli-Kohan who engaged in a smear campaign utilizing a media which thrives on controversy. Being an outspoken and controversial figure , the Iranian media awarded much space and opportunity for Mayeli-Kohan to publicly accuse Daei of misdeeds including financial benefiting from Peresepolis club contract and misappropriation of funds. Mayeli-Kohan failed to produce any credible evidence during the trials.

This is the second time that Daei has won a court case against his sworn enemy Maylei-Kohan , who portrays himself as a person on crusade to clean Iran’s football  ( and the country , for that matter) from corrupt elements.   The first case resulted in an undisclosed settlement between the two parties with a claim that Maylei-Kohan has agreed to a cease and desist court order.

Mayeli-Kohan however, did not stop and continued his rhetoric, accusation and allegations against Daei.

The route of the animosity by Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan against Daei goes way back to 1997 when Mayeli-Kohan was the head coach of Team Melli playing in the World Cup 1998 qualifiers. Ali Daei was the leading forward and top goal scorer of the team. In a crucial stage, the two had a disagreement which leads Mayeli-Kohan to drop Daei from the team roster.  Daei’s exclusion raised much media & public criticism. Mayeli could not produce the one win that Iran required for direct qualification to the World Cup, and following two defeats and a draw in the last 3 matches, he was fired from his job. Daei’s exile from Team Melli was short-lived. Maylei-Kohan always believed that it was Daei’s power and influence which has led to his sacking from his Team Melli head coaching job.

In another interesting twist to the tale, Iran’s Sports Minister has interfered in the court proceeding of Maylei-Kohan and ordered the Legal advisor of his Ministry, Mazyar Nazemi to pursue the case in order to release Maylei-Kohan from prison!

The Minister‘s motive, according to Nazemi, is to protect the honour and reputation  of senior sport personalities in public and prevent disputes between two parties reaching such a stage. However , Goudarzi is not only interfering in a court of law , which is the highest authority in the legal system in Iran , he is in contempt as he himself has filed a libel suit against Daei in a court of law accusing a senior sport personality (Daei) of slander and taking the matter to the highest legal system in Iran exactly opposite what he preached in support of Mayeli-Kohan !

The minster is using public resources and spending public money interfering in a personal case that as little to do with him , a case which the court has already handled. The minister interference also draws a big question mark about his prejudice and partiality. His interference in the court verdict is a clear case of conflict of interest.

Minister files suit against Daei and Rahimi for slander and defamation.

The Minister of youth and sport in the government of Iran has filed a law suit against the former CEO of Persepolis Club , Alireza Rahimi and the former coach Ali Daei demanding compensation and apology for their false accusations.

Fatema Mehrabi , the head of legal affairs in the Ministry in an interview with ISNA discussed the proceedings of the case by accusing both Rahimi and Daei of slander , false information and smear campaign against the Minister .” Mr. Goudarzi has much respect for both of these Gentlemen who contributed a lot for the development of sport in this country. However, they have both going beyond the limits of decency‘ by accusing the minister as being the instigator of firing them from their positions in the club. Mr. Goudarzi was not involved in the recruitment of Daei as the head coach of Persepolis and neither was he involved in his termination at any level, even in an advisory manner. Their public accusations in the media amounted to an insult to the reputation and character of the honorable minister in public. Therefore such case must be dealt by a court of law where truth and facts are made clear to the public and proper judgment is announced.”

Ali Daei has openly accused Goudarzi of being behind the decision by Persepolis Chairman of sacking him from his position. This was also backed by the then CEO and Daei’s staunch supporter, Rahimi in Navad TV show. Daei’s lawyer has confirmed that his client was summoned to the Public Attorney’s office to face the accusations against him.

Ali Daei responding to the Public Attorney summon

 

Ali Daei has recently won a case he filed against Mohammad Mayeli-Kohan , the ex-Team Melli coach whose rhetoric , frequent trash talking, allegations and denunciations is monumental. The verdict was a three month jail sentence for the beleaguered Mayeli-Kohan whose has been found guilty of slander and defamation for the second time against Daei. Mayeli-Kohan must serve the jail sentence.

Ali Daei might find himself in prison if the case against him by Goudarzi is actually reaches the courts.

The absence and dearth of glory and achievements in Iranian football is compensated by off the field activities with a series of dramatic events mostly involving misdemeanor, transgressions, indiscipline and fraud.

Daei reveals how President Ahmadinejad sacked him!

In a controversial revelation by Ali Daei, the recently sacked Persepolis coach has said that the main reason behind his sacking as Team Melli coach was the then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The outspoken Daei said the reason for his sacking is his refusal to join Ahmadinejad re-election campaign and show his public support to the hardline President.

 Daei was sacked after one defeat against Saudi Arabia in the World Cup 2010 qualifiers, his only defeat as a coach of Team Melli. Iran was going through the Presidential Election with the opposition leaders Mousavi and Karoubi gaining grounds on the incumbent President Ahmadinejad who was losing much public support as a result of poor economy.

Daei’s claim came in last night’s edition of the popular Navad program in which Ferdowsipour was discussing Persepolis recent developments, coaching and managerial changes.

As customary in such situation, it was quite difficult to believe who is telling g the truth, but what was abundantly clear in the chronic mismanagement, government interference, nepotism, political influences and back stabbing behind the scenes that is distressing football in Iran. Persepolis, like Esteghlal , is owned and financed by the government through the Ministry of Youth and Sport in Iran. Despite the continual denials that the Ministry interferes in the day-to-day running of the clubs, facts and behind the scene events tells otherwise.  

ahmadinejad daei

Another interesting aspect of the program was the number of Persepolis fans who were upset by the recent developments in the club. Despite poor results by Daei , he still has much support base amongst the fans as the polls indicated. Daei, admitting some of his shortfall ( and that is in itself quite unique) but attributed the team’s poor performance to the attempts by the hierarchy in the club and the Ministry of Sport to dislodge him from his post as early as the season start! In brief , Daei was saying that they were plotting against him and making his life difficult.

Daei in his defense, said “We lost quality players like Khalatbary , Jalal Hosseini , Mosalman and others because the management failed to agree terms with them and pay what they are worth. On top of that, quite a large number of players were not fully paid from the previous season’s contract. How would you expect the players to perform on the field?” Rahimi, the sacked CEO of Persepolis supported Daei’s claims and confirmed that the Hierarchy wanted Daei out even before the season started!

Daei has accused the present Minister of Sport , Goudarzi of sacking him and has established that he has the honor of being sacked by the President of the Country once and the Minister of Sport the next time.

Clearly , much like its neighboring countries , political interference in football is widespread and prevalent in Iran. Political events and spheres of influence seem to spreads to where popularity lies. The exception in Iran is the relatively more press freedom and transparency which allows such exposures to reach the public.   

Team Melli departs to Brazil.

Team Melli has departed Tehran at the early hours of the morning destination Brazil. After a short reception in the CIP lounge of Imam Khomeni Airport, where the Minister of Youth & Sport was present and wished the players and the squad the best of luck, the squad left to Brazil.

Reporters were initially not allowed into the CIP lounge despite invitations to attend a brief news conference before the squad departure. With the arrival of the Minster of Sports Goudarzi , who was informed about the reporters being denied access, and on his instructions, the security authorities of the airport allowed the media enter the lounge.

The manager of Team Melli, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi , did not fly with the squad. This is the second time that the person who should be leading and supervising the squad, ensuring the comfort and  proper facilitation of all the requirements , has not accompanied the team! Mohammad Nabi has cited personal issues as the reason for not accompanying the team.

Last night, the football federation arranged a small farewell party for the squad in Azadi Sport Complex arena. The farewell party was attended by many dignitaries including the Minster of sport who urged the team to be strong and fight to soldiers to defend the honor of the country.

 Kaffashian who was also present at the airport to bid the team farewell , will be joining the squad in Brazil on Sunday as the head the delegation .

Also missing from the flight to Brazil was Markar Aghajanian who has flown ahead to analyze the Nigeria game against USA.

Before playing the first match against Nigeria in Group F at Arena da Baixada  on the 16th June, Team Melli will have a final preparation game against Trinidad and Tobago behind closed doors in Brazil camp.

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