Tag: Imam Reza Stadium

Mehdi Taj “FIFA still investigating Iran-Lebanon match incidents.”

The President of Iran’s football federation FFIRI Mehdi Taj said that the verdict on the controversial Iran-Lebanon match in Mashad in World Cup 2022 qualifiers is still under investigation by FIFA.

According to Taj, the case is still open with FIFA.

“Our case is in the FIFA Disciplinary Committee and the President of FIFA can only postpone it. He has no authority or influence beyond that,” Taj declared “the jurisdiction and the verdict is only in the hands of the Disciplinary Committee.”

Infantino helped Iran before the start of the FIFA World Cup 2022 to prevent what would have been a serious risk of Team Melli being sanctioned. After the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup, the serious violation committed by the government and security forces at and around Imam Reza Stadium will be addressed. The violations include preventing females from entering the stadium despite carrying official tickets, using undue force in doing so, and serious overcrowding and lack of safe practices and crowd control measures at entry and exits of the venue.

FIFA Disciplinary Committee must issue a ruling in this regard, which could be anything from depriving Team Melli of playing home games in Iran to heavy fines or both.

There could also be other ramifications for FFIRI as, despite the promises given to FIFA about females being allowed into stadiums, the hardliners and religious hierarchy are not happy with such a ruling and have defied FIFA and forced their own will on the subject matter. Suspension of Iran from FIFA and AFC is a possibility, though remote.

FFIRI responds to FIFA about Mashad incidents.

By the end of FIFA’s six-day deadline, the Iranian Football Federation FFIRI presented its defense in the case of the Iran-Lebanon match held in Mashad.

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee on September 5th in a letter to the Iranian Football Federation demanded an explanation for the disorderly events of the match between Iran and Lebanon which was held in Mashhad. This match was the last game Iran played in the qualification rounds of the FIFA World Cup 2022. As the spectators were entering the stadium, disturbances occurred outside Imam Reza stadium. The sole reason for the aggravations which were associated with some violent scenes were the security forces, who took it upon themselves to stop women from entering the stadium at the behest of some religious figures. There was no attempt by the FFIRI personnel to intervene. Some female spectators, most of whom held legitimate match tickets, were insulted and treated roughly by the security forces.

Social media was littered with such scenes.

FIFA had given Iran six days to respond to this case. According to Ehsan Usooli, today was the deadline for FFIRI, which felt the seriousness of the accusations and possible sanction by the world governing football body as a result. FFIRI sent its response on time and according to Mehdi Taj, the new head of FFIRI, the FIFA letter’s wording was somewhat worrying, and for this reason, we have officially corresponded with government officials from the presidency to the judiciary and the parliament asking the appropriate authorities to deal with the perpetrators of this incident in Mashad.

FFIRI has permitted the entry of females only after the government lifted the ban. The action of the security forces in Mashhad was not in line with the government and it was an individual act by the local commander that created those ugly scenes that harms Iran’s reputation.  The FFIRI letters to the government agencies have been attached to Iran’s response to prove to FIFA that the government and the federation of Football had no role in this disorder. Meanwhile, there is yet no official response from the government to FFIRI to indicate that any police or security personnel will be held accountable. Holding the government and especially security forces liable in Iran is a very rare occurrence and if it ever happens, it will definitely not be publicized.

FIFA has announced that this case will be heard on September 31. Some officials of the football federation, including the vice president of the football federation, have expressed concern about this case.

Although FFIRI was not the culprit in this case and has not acted in violation of the FIFA regulation, the fact that females, not only were stopped from entering but also treaded roughly by security forces, does not emblemish FFIRI. It does not form a good defense nor will it be considered a genuine justification as the violation has occurred in the country. With local government personnel or any individual local commanders acting as they please on this subject, it is difficult to predict if females will be allowed in the stadiums in various Iranian cities. FIFA also fears that freedom of access to stadiums by female fans will be selective rather than institutional and FFIRI will play its ignorance card.

 FIFA is expected to act harshly against Iran, although scenes of ladies in Azadi where cheering female fans made the headlines across the world, might reduce the intensity of FIFA’s action.

Women humiliated around Imam Reza Stadium!

Once again Iran football was in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

The government security forces stationed in Imam Reza Stadium in the holy city of Mashad forcefully prevented women from entering the stadium for a unique and perhaps once-in-a-lifetime chance to watch their beloved Team Melli playing.

There has been enough written about the subject of women’s entry into stadiums in Iran. FIFA, despite its own corrupt practices and the dominance of the powerful lobbies in its decision making, rightly threatened Iran with a ban a few months back, if they stopped women from attending football matches.

Feeling the high risk of public discontent, the wrath of the masses, and very possible eruption of violence in the streets if Team Melli were to be thrown out of the World Cup because of that, the authorities dominated by clerics and bigots, succumbed to pressure. They allowed Iranian females to attend a few international matches with extreme restrictions.

However, in the match against Lebanon, the final qualifier match for both teams, the regime was back to its old tricks!

The security forces, deployed pepper spray on Tuesday against females who were also subjected to insults, pushed, shoved around by a brutal security force outside Imam Reza stadium. The females were told to go home as there are no place for them in the stadium. Many of the women held genuine tickets.

Of course, the old finger-pointing, denials, the blame game, and the all-time favorite speech that this was all the work of the great Satan, will start to be circulating, but the fact remains that the government through their security agents has once again exposed the ugly part of the country to the outsiders. It has put the good name of Iran into disrepute with such uncivilized treatment of women. The Persian society from thousands of years ago has valued women’s roles, importance, and always appreciated their part. They are now being demoted, devalued, humiliated by the very regime that is supposed to protect them.

Not only they are being constantly prosecuted for not covering their hair or wearing the hijab according to the whims of a few, but they have also been deprived of the freedom of watching a football match too. This is one of the hundreds of other restrictive rules and practices of this clerical regime.

It is very sad to admit that the only way that the regime understands, and respects international law is by throwing the book at them. FIFA will surely reach the conclusion that it is dealing with deceptive and conniving people. A total ban on international matches in Iran is very much on the card. Iran has few friends and many enemies, and that will be reflected in any FIFA decision.

Team Melli ends the qualification rounds with a win against Lebanon.

Mashad: Iran completed their AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar™ schedule in style, eliminating Lebanon from playoff contention with a 2-0 victory at the Imam Reza Stadium on Tuesday.
Goals from Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakhsh continued Team Melli’s superb form on home soil and ensured they will go into Friday’s FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ draw full of confidence after an outstanding campaign.

Lebanon came into the Matchday 10 clash with the door to June’s AFC qualification playoff ever so slightly ajar, but a sixth Group A defeat meant Mashhad marked the end of the road for Ivan Hašek’s side.

While the Cedars came into the tie without the likes of Soony Saad and Hassan Maatouk, Iran welcomed back Jahanbakhsh, who missed Thursday’s 2-0 defeat to Korea Republic, and it was the Feyenoord star who forced a solid save from Mostafa Matar with the game’s first real chance, a well struck 20-yard effort in the 19th minute.
Dragan Skočić’s men monopolised early possession, while Lebanon looked to minimise clear cut chances for their opponents, but the visiting side’s resistance was broken by a goal of beautiful simplicity, with Hossein Kanani dissecting the defence to find Azmoun’s perfectly timed run, with the Bayer Leverkusen forward easing the ball home from 12 yards in the 35th minute.
Iran looked to be cruising at that stage, but the hosts were almost punished for some untidy moments in possession prior to the interval, with Hussein Zein sending a rare Lebanese effort on goal narrowly over Alireza Beiranvand’s crossbar in the final minute of the first half.
The hosts continued to live dangerously after the break, with Hilal El Helwe sending Beiranvand sprawling with a volleyed effort that went only inches wide in the 48th minute, but Lebanon’s slim hopes were finally dashed when the Iranian captain put the result beyond doubt with just under 20 minutes remaining.
Again, it was a Kanani pass that unlocked the Lebanese defence, with his lofted ball catching out a much higher defensive line before Jahanbakhsh (pictured below, centre) beat Matar with a cultured side-footed effort which sent the bouncing ball floating into the net from 15 yards.
In Dubai, the UAE team fought gallantly to defeat South Korea 1-0 to seal its position in the AFC playoff and also

confirm Iran as the group winners.

With their third successive FIFA World Cup appearance long secured, Iran’s latest win means they overtake  Korea Republic in group A.

AFC ASIAN QUALIFIERS

Group A

Final Standing

P W D L F A GD PTS
1
IRAN
 10 8 1 1 15 4 11 25
2
KOREA REPUBLIC
 10 7 2 1 13 3 10 23
3
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
 10 3 3 4 7 7 0 12
4
IRAQ
 10 1 6 3 6 12 -6 9
5
SYRIA
 10 1 3 6 9 16 -7 6
6
LEBANON
 10 1 3 6 5 13 -8 6

Iran hosting of AFC Asian Cup 2027!

Recently there have been some reports, possibly leaked to the media by FFIRI, about Iran requesting the hosting of AFC Asian Cup 2027.  This suggestion has been carried by many media and sports publications.  The is article discusses whether this possibility is realistic or just another gag to entertain the Iranian fans under the lockdown of COVID-19.

For a starter, news, or rumors of  FFIRI application for Iran to host the AFC Asian Cup 2027 has been met by a wave of criticism from football fans and critics mainly targeting the Iranian federation’s action. This comes at a time when the Asian Football’s most prestigious event  (AFC Asian Cup) requires major resources and infrastructure while Iran’s football, in general, is in the midst of a major crisis that is unparalleled in the country and will probably take years to recover.

* Hosting under current infrastructure?

At first glance, attention needs to be drawn to stadiums with FIFA standards, which are not available in Iran, as Sheikh Salman, the AFC president, recently announced that to host the event, which will be 24 teams tournament, eight to ten stadiums will be required. Despite the construction of stadiums such as Imam Reza, Shohadaye Foolad and Naghshe Jehan, etc., Iran is still miles away from such a standard required for hosting.

* Logistics and accommodation

 The important issues are those related to the transportation, logistics, accommodation, and marketing in such competitions, which require high fortitude and cooperation of government agencies and cannot be done by an organization such as the Football Federation or the Ministry of Sports. A look at the list of requirements for each country to hold this event shows that Iran has not had a history of holding major events since 1976, that is 44 years ago when the competition had 8 teams and most matches were played in the state-of-the-art newly built Arayamehr Stadium.

The current sporting infrastructure has not developed efficiently since the revolution. War, Political environment, priorities, sanctions, and most importantly financial resources were poorly allocated for sports venues.  Unless one believes in a miracle, it is really difficult to envisage all the factors merging towards achieving the target of 10 stadia by 2027

* Poor facilities of host cities.

Of course, there will be other Iranian cities that will host the group matches. Not all efforts and resources would be channeled towards hosting in Tehran only. In the current state, there are many problems in terms of transportation, logistics, and sports infrastructure, across the main cities in Iran. Although some cities have good facilities such as Mashhad which has an international airport and modern subway system, it lacks a proper FIFA Standard stadium while other options such as Esfahan has a good stadium that can easily host matches, but their transportation facilities and accommodations lag behind.

The most vital of the facilities, accommodation is a problem in other cities as well. The lack of  5-star hotels in some cities, as well as the difficulties of obtaining customs and visa permits, and finally the ban on women’s presence in the stadiums culminate in a poor chance of hosting.

Naghshe Jehan Stadium, Esfahan.

* Advertising revenues and copyright laws.

In a strange system, in Iran, the broadcaster never pays the football federation. In fact, IRIB the government-owned broadcaster and the only authorized TV and Radio broadcaster had the audacity to claim that it should be the other way round as IRIB is doing football a favor by broadcasting matches!

In Iran, there is no Copyright laws either, at least not the way it is recognized and practiced internationally.  Clubs or the federation cannot claim nor count on revenues from companies who commercially use logos or other materials to sell their products. Therefore there are no official kits or jerseys by the clubs because cheaper products can be sold alongside genuine products without the protection or respect of copyrights.

While, the case of advertising revenues can be easily sorted out for the Asian Cup tournament, as the AFC has a solid and well laid down contractual clause that is legally binding, the copyright laws is well outside the football federation’s jurisdiction and AFC has no role to play in it. Copyright protection requires the government to initiate and produce legislation. It has to be passed as a law.  Then the suggested copyright law clauses need to be approved by the Majlis (parliament) and that in itself is not an easy task. The judiciary also needs to be on board and prosecute the offenders. Different government within governments like Pasdaran, Sepah, and the religious establishment will always have their own rules and understanding of any law. In brief, it is not an easy task to create copyright laws in Iran,  where chaotic political-religious system rules supreme.

Several attempts of the establishment of this law have failed, and it is unlikely that such laws will be established by 2027 or before.

* Financial and executive crisis in the Football Federation.

 Iran’s request for hosting the Asian Cup will be looked upon in association with the integrity, strength, legitimacy, and competency of the persons running the football federation. At the moment, FFIRI is in crisis and facing sanctions by FIFA for many issues but mainly due to government interference. With such shady administration, it is unlikely that many will vote for Iran while the administrators are busy saving their own skins.

Former FFIRI President, who has been outside Iran for many months, is under scrutiny for financial irregularities

 

 

 

in 2014, UAE won the hosting of the 2019 Asian Cup instead of Iran. The UAE, met the conditions and the requirements to host the event and was able to prepare for the competition in four years. It has a well-established copyright law that is strictly implemented. There are plenty of international airports that are served by hundreds of airlines, it had the ideal infrastructure, hotels, stadia, perfect road system, Trams(Dubai), and resources, so it was a no brainer for it to be chosen as hosts.

How is Iran compared now? will it have the chance this time with competition from Saudi Arabia and India?

Given the country’s economic situation and existing sanctions, the efforts required to establish or amend laws like copyright, intellectual property protection, women in the stadium, and the resources required to massively upgrade the stadiums in Tehran and other Iranian cities, the answer is a categorical NO.

There are far too many problems and issues for Iran’s hosting of major sporting events in the magnitude of the Asian Cup. Any such attempt by FFIRI to send the hosting file to AFC as a candidate for AFC Asian Cup 2027 will only be an embarrassment for Iran while it may serve as a propaganda tool for the current FFIRI administrators.