Tag: Mehdi Taj

Yes Minister !!

Masoud Soltanifar was spot on when he issued instructions to Mehdi Taj and ordered FFIRI to investigate the management calamity that has led to a heavy fine and sanctions by FIFA imposed on Persepolis club that might approach the 800,000 Euro including legal cost.

The Minister of youth and sports was even more judicious and decisive when he demanded, in no uncertain terms, that the football administrators get their act together and start learning the skills of the trade by attending courses or workshop in order to improve their knowledge in international law and football management.

On the surface of things, the reaction of the minister is praiseworthy. Mr. Soltanifar, is more than concerned about the repeated failures of Iranian football management and poor decision making leading to wastage of public funds. Virtually all clubs, but most significantly the two top popular ones, Esteghlal and Persepolis, are run by the government in some form or another. As such this control has cost the public coffers tens of millions of dollars in expenditure and wastage. There is another motive for issuing the order by Mr. Soltanifar. He is, no doubt bracing himself for questioning in the Majlis (the Parliament) by members who will question his authority and criticize his role in this humiliation.

Indeed, humiliation is the right phrase used by no other than Carlos Queiroz to describe this whole affair.

However, on close scrutiny of this event and the subsequent reaction by the Minister, it seems that this is a clear case of self-incrimination.

The individuals who are running Persepolis are appointees of the Ministry in the first place. The Youth & Sports Minister approves the Chief Executive, board member and major posts in the club, and hence he is directly accountable for the actions by the club. It is him that has failed to appoint a competent team of administrators and it is appropriate that he is questioned and held accountable for this fiasco.

Those who run football in Iran, particularly Esteghlal and Persepolis clubs, from directors to key administration personnel, are mostly political appointees. Rather than competency or merit based appointments, the candidates for the posts are either ex revolutionary guards’ commanders, military,  police or government employees who have served the regime and in returned are rewarded for their loyalties. This might work if those people are competent and experienced in this field. There is no place for entrepreneurs, businessmen or professionally trained and experienced executives in the boards of Persepolis and Esteghlal.  It is more important to be a pious man who does not miss his prayer rather than being a capable manager with knowledge in marketing, financing, legal affairs and public relations talents. There is a distinct lack of personnel who can run clubs as corporate entities.

It is not surprising that fiascos such as this can be committed by the likes of Mehdi Taj, Ali Kaffashian and Ali Akbar Taheri. A person such as Mohammad Rouyanian, led Persepolis to the verge of bankruptcy while at the helm of the club a few years back. The affairs in the other popular club , Esteghlal, is not much better.  The Minster and the government must shoulder the responsibility especially since the concern is wastage of public funds that can be used in much needed areas of football development (such as having a decent training ground for Team Melli)

The lack of accountability is quite rife in Iran’s football. It is indeed rare for a coach, Chairman or an accountable manager to accept responsibility for a failure and resign his post.  All those aforementioned have one undeniable skill and that is bargaining! The word Chaneh, meaning bargaining or lack of a better term, maneuvering, dodging and evading an issue by the use of justification, excuses and pleas. This is instilled in the Iranian culture and accepted in the bazzar when buying a commodity but it is also widely used in business and administration process. It is a trait that takes those who excel in it to great heights in the hierarchy. With maneuvering and use of words and terms, these people get away with murder. Fortunately, in international law, there is no place for such maneuvering and that is where Iran football gets caught. The suspension of Iran by FIFA post Word Cup 2006 is still fresh in the memory.

It is not that Iran lacks managerial and administration skills to run a successful football club or football federation.

When the country has the likes of Mohammad Javad Zarif and his team of negotiators on the nuclear deal who have done the nation pride by their skills, professionalism, knowledge and proficiency that has gained the respect of the whole world, it is pity that such skills are nowhere to be seen in football administration which is now a global multibillion dollar business and not just purely a sport.

The government has no business running football in Iran, not in any other country for that matter. By owning and running sports clubs, there is a great responsibility that has to be accomplished in a successful manner. The reality is that the government has a vivid lack of vision, tools and competency in doing so. Their priorities are focused on security and fear of expression of discontent leading to mass revolt. It might be a legitimate right for the regime to protect itself, but by controlling football clubs and federation, it is exposing itself too . The government should have much more important functions and priorities other than running Esteghlal and Persepolis. 

Yes Minister. You are correct in your demands for answers. But it is a step too late. In corporate terms, this is a reactive measure rather than proactive. Even if there is partial success in reducing the penalties, it only serves as a cover for the real perennial problem in Iran’s football…incompetent management.

Mehdi Taj to the rescue of Iranian clubs.

The FFIRI President, after prolonged discussion with AFC officials, was able to extend the AFC deadline given to Iranian clubs to pay off their debts for additional two months.

Asian Football Confederation recently set a deadline for the AFC Champions League teams, according to which the clubs must pay all their debts to individuals, legal entities and taxpayers until 31 August . Otherwise they would not be able to get professional licenses and participate in Asian competitions including the Champions League.

Meanwhile, each of the four Iranian clubs on the list Persepolis , Esteghlal , Tractorsazi and Naft Tehran had amassed huge debts from the past seasons that their settlement could did not possibly be cleared in two months, and requires careful planning by the owners of these clubs.

Regarding this problem, Mehdi Taj, during his recent visit to the AFC, had meetings with the members of the Confederation, which resulted in AFC’s approval for a two-month extension to the deadline and mainly to determine the debt obligations. Earlier, these debts were to be paid until August 31st,  the club’s account needs to be clear of debts by 9th ​​of November.

 

 

Now is not the time for silence!

 

The announcement of the ban of the two national team players led to widespread negative reactions. FIFA spokesman has requested an explanation about the incident and if the FFIRI is adhering to the principle of the independence of the federation from Iranian authorities. It apparent that FIFA requires a quick and clear response from the Mehdi Taj.

According to ISNA, after the Panionios Greek club was grouped with a Zionist regime in the European League playoffs, the club announced in a statement that Masoud Shojaei and Ehsan HajSafy would not be used for the game in Tel Aviv, in respect to their beliefs. But the Greek club declared that the two Iranian players are needed in the return match due to the defeat in the away game and placed them in the starting lineup. Both the Iranian players came out to the pitch with wristbands in the shape of Iranian flag.

After that, the debate about the future of the two players intensified, until the Football Federation and the Ministry of Sports condemned the incident. They both announced that “soon a review their situation with the presence of the two players will be conducted”. In fact, the federation and the ministry of sport tried to enforce the statute of the football federation and, on the other hand, refused to take a hasty decision to make the situation worse.

A few days later, Ali Motahari, the vice chairman of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, condemned the presence of these two players against the Zionist regime, saying that Shojaei and Hajj Safi could apologize to the people and promise that such an affair would no longer be repeated to close this subject.

However and unexpectedly,  the relative calm situation that was prevailing was suddenly shattered with the interview that was given by the deputy minister of sports. “The two players have crossed the red line and hence are banned from playing with the national team.” Such types of statements have put Iranian football in a serious challenge and jeopardy.

The problem that could have been resolved by keeping it under discreet internal discussion,  was soon taken blown over and became a topic in world media and well outside our borders. Serious questions are being asked. Is the Iranian Football Federation Independent? Is there chronic government interference in football affairs in Iran? Is this ban of the two footballers consistent with football rules and regulations as sanctioned by FIFA? Does Iran want to be part of FIFA and play up to the rule or face sanctions like many other nations for such political interference?

Now that the national team has done the difficult part and qualified the World Cup and Persepolis is in the Asian Champions League quarter-finals with a good chance of winning the title, the repeat of history and the possibility of a football suspension can be very unpleasant affair. As of now in the football federation, from “Taj” to “Saket” and  the members of the board of directors of the FFIRI, know that FIFA is demanding an answer, however it is not clear what the federation and its officials are doing these days, maintaining absolute silence in this frenzy, and providing no explanations or answers. Neither to public opinion nor to the official football institutions!!

These days, an official statement from the officials of the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) may be that water required for the fire of those with hateful intentions for the national interests of Iran.

The football federation has done well by maintaining silence up to date, but anything more than that “silence” is not acceptable. Taj and his directors should take a position soon in fact, very soon. It should be announced that the Football Federation is an independent body and no football events have taken place without its decision and administration, and it will not allow it to be manipulated by those who have ill-intention and malice for the national interests of Iran

FFIRI taking AFC and Saudis to court.

Mehdi Taj, the President of Iran’s football association FFIRI has announced that a delegation headed by Ali Kaffashian will proceed to Switzerland to present Iran’s case against the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Saudi Arabia.

After the breaking of political relation between the two countries, the Saudi Football authorities refused to allow its teams to travel to Iran citing security fears. The AFC , which is led by a Bahraini Shaikh, and no doubt influenced by dominating Arab lobby in the Asian Ruling body, immediately accepted the Saudi argument and ordered both countries to play their matches against each other on neutral ground. This move, not only put a huge burden on Iranian teams which are already suffering financial hardship but also deprived them from that world-famous passionate support they usually receive in Azadi stadium.

Iran’s FFIRI grudgingly accepted the AFC ruling initially , however, it consulted several law firms and international legal consultancies to determine the legitimacy of the ruling by AFC. Neither United Nation nor FIFA or any other world bodies for that matter, has announced that Iran is a war zone or it is an unsafe venue for football or other  sport activities. The Saudi move was purely politically motivated and AFC had failed to execute its due diligence when it issued the ruling against Iran. The AFC ruling was against AFC’s own principles about politics in football. 

As recently as last month, the AFC has written to its Member Associations reiterating that all stakeholders involved in Asian football must respect the principle of political neutrality.

The letter sent by the AFC stressed that the principle is a cornerstone of both the AFC and of the international sports movement, and is reflected in Article 3.2 of the AFC Statutes, which states: “the AFC is neutral in all matters of politics and religion”.

In the case that FFIRI has lodged in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ,  the Iranians are demanding that AFC reverse its ruling and allow Iranian teams and clubs to exercise its right to play at home grounds in front of its own crowds,  in addition to a demand  for compensation for all the expenses incurred by travelling Iranian teams and officials. The defendant is AFC and its head, Shk. Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, 

The case put forward by FFIRI will be quite interesting for Qatar. There is very little doubt that Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain teams will refuse to play in Qatar putting due to the recent break of relationship. As such this will put immense pressure on the AFC to obey the Saudi lobby and traet Qatari teams the same as it treated the Iranians. Qatar, like Iran , is a safe country and will be hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022.  No doubt that the Saudi lobby will claim some terrorism allegation for its case against Qatar.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; French: Tribunal arbitral du sport, TAS) is an international quasi-judicial body established to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne(Switzerland) and its courts are located in New York City, Sydney and Lausanne. Temporary courts are established in current Olympic host cities.

Is it worth it?

Iranian football has never been exposed to such a humiliating treatment like the ones that it is receiving from this Mozambique born Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz.

For the last few years and due to all sort of reasons, he has been treating the football federation with contempt. Manipulating the faults and the sheer incompetency of the system managed by the likes of Ali Kaffashian , Mehdi Taj and MohammadReza Saket (the so-called Esfahani Mafia), Queiroz has opened a front against the establishment and began a proxy war , agitation technique and a campaign in misleading the stakeholders in order to get out of his commitment and contractual obligation.  Such contempt, disrespect to the people, flagrant disregard for the etiquette of the host country would have sent him on the first flight home if that happened in one of the Persians Gulf countries, however it seems that the Persians are way too accommodating for the “Khareji”.

 Omid Namazi 

Queiroz’s  list of his misdemeanors is as long as an airport runway and it is increasing by the day. His latest antics were the indiscriminate sacking of the Iranian personnel working in Team Melli. From Afshin Peyrovani, unashamed defenders of the Portuguese man who was living in denial to the mild mannered, dedicated and the professional Markar Aghajanian. Before them, Omid Namazi faced the same dilemma.

“At what price and humiliation level do you want to make to the World Cup?” These are the words of Ali Karimi who served under Queiroz for a few days as an assistant coach only to abruptly leave his post and was subsequently bombarded with hate messages and profanities from the same people who used to cheer him on the stands during his playing days, according to Karimi’s own words. But to his credit , Karimi  always maintained silence and never discussed the reason for leaving his Team Melli assistant coach job in such an abrupt manner. Karimi, rightly or wrongly feared instability in the Team Melli camp and to preserve national interest, he remained quiet.

“Now,  you can guess what happened in my case. I say no more, but I hope all those who questioned my loyalty to Team Melli realize where I stand and why I left.” Karimi clearly hinting at the treatment of Iranian assistant coaches are receiving from the Portuguese.

There is no doubt that Queiroz was lied to, promises of support never fulfilled, worked in a chaotic rather than a systematic environment, not paid his wages on time and most importantly lacked the resources to excel in his job, but he knew all of that during his first term and yet accepted an improved offer to continue working in Iran (although physically residing in Dubai and abroad most of the time) . His agreement to extend his contract beyond World Cup 2014 was done after a series of press statements bad mouthing Iran’s football and its administration!

Is it worth it? Is qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2018 worth all of the insults, abuses and cruelties that this Portuguese man is giving to the Iranians in their own country?

A proud nation with thousands of years of culture is being taken to the cleaners by one vindictive man who has an agenda and that is quite literally, anarchy. His vindictive tactics is more petulant than clever too. Using a Persepolis player in his squad to unsettle Branko Ivankovic’s team preparation is one such leverage he selected to take revenge for the Croat coach!!

 The nation that stood against virtually all the great powers and refused to bow to their pressure thus holding its head up high and being proud of it, is unable to deal with the antics of one foreign football coach. Pity those who think that Queiroz is the only man in the world that can take Iran to the World Cup 2018.

Ando Teymourian transfer to Esteghlal halted!

The former Team Mell Captain, whose transfer to Esteghlal Tehran club has been announced as void, is extremely upset by this turn of events. Esteghlal Club has been sanctioned by FIFA and is banned from any transfer activities until such time they settle a pay dispute with the German born Moroccan International Adil Chihi.  The 28 years old Moroccan made 6 appearances for Esteghlal in 2016 before leaving Tehran. The Player subsequently filed a claim with FIFA against the Tehran giant for non-payment of dues.

Despite various letters from FIFA asking Esteghlal for proof, there was only one response from Esteghlal and that was considered inadmissible. The club Chairman, without admitting any guilt or wrongdoing claimed that his club has fully paid the Moroccan but because of the international sanctions, the bank transfer of funds was not carried out!!!

FIFA issued the sanction by a letter submitted to FFIRI on 9th January 2017 banning Esteghlal from any transfer activities.

Andranik “Ando” Teymourian, who is hoping to revive his flagging career by joining the blues, is at a crossroad now. Due to the official signing & registration with Esteghlal, he is ineligible to play for another team or go back to his last club, Mchine Sazi . He is, for all intents and purposes, a victim of circumstances beyond his control. His chances of selection and playing for Team Melli seems to be at minimal with the current situation prevailing.

Unless the FIFA sanction is removed after Esteghlal settles the dispute including payment of fines and legal cost, neither Teymourian nor the Uzbek player Server Djeparov who like Ando signed for Esteghlal, can play competitive football.

In a related development, Mehdi Taj, the Head of FFIRI has said that the matter is being calmly resolved, while the chairman of Esteghlal , a civil servant appointed by the government and typical to the class of administrators running football in Iran for the past few decades, made an appeal to Mehdi Taj to negotiate a discount from FIFA …. Truly pathetic and comical act.

FIFA has also indicated that Esteghlal has a long history of violations and financial irregularities. In general, Iranian football is becoming quite notorious for payment delays to foreign players and coaching staff, partly because of banking restrictions due to sanction but mostly due to poor financial discipline of Iranian clubs federation. The mentality that they can bargain their way out of financial commitments is still rife and very much practised!

Queiroz “We will request to move Qatar match to Tabriz”

Team Melli head coach suggested that the first match against Qatar in the final rounds of FIFA World Cup 2018 should be moved to Tabriz’z Yadegar Imam  stadium because of friendlier atmosphere!

“I have asked Mr. Taj to move our match against Qatar to Tabriz because they treat us much better there.”  Queiroz said in a statement to the press after the conclusion of the Team Melli practise session in Azadi this afternoon.  Iran has always played major Team Melli games in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium. The last time a match was played in Tabriz was 16 years ago. A decision to move to Tabriz, would should surely antagonize Queiroz fans in Tehran. Queiroz did not mention how he figured out the friendlier atmosphere in Tabriz while he never experienced playing there with Team Melli.

Queiroz who is never far from controversy , hostility and a battles against his alleged enemies, also had some harsh words for the Manager of Azadi sport complex. He accused the person without naming him of being an enemy of Team Melli  and treating his squad with contempt.! 

It is believed that this idea of moving to Tabriz is more directed to the alleged bad treatment of the stadium  management rather than the fans sentiments.

Queiroz said that he will be taking 24 players to Macedonia for the friendly international in Skopje. The final list has not been produced yet pending health report and injury condition on couple of the players.

Queiroz also said that he will present a comprehensive report on the new Team Melli kit to Mehdi Taj , the head of IRIFF , however he declined to disclose any details. Team Melli has just changed its kit to a little known Italian kit supplier.

When confronted by a journalist about his broad and repetitive accusations, a defiant Queiroz admitted that but said “I know that I have been repeating the same things over and over again for a few years now, but as long as these people (…) are there and acting hostile , I will talk. No body can stop me from talking against them and exposing them!”

It is clear that no one seems to dare to stop the Portuguese from trash talking , and it is also clear that many are tired of his rhetorics, however , what really matters is how he will lead his team in the World Cup qualifiers. The competition is tough but Iran is well capable of making the trip to Russia if the Portuguese plays his cards right and not come up with the excuses such as Qatar and China are rich and investing!

 

Sepahan and the FFIRI clash over release of Ali Karimi

Sepahan Esfahan reacted sharply to the threats of sanction by the football federation FFIRI on the release of Ali Karimi the promising young forward to Team Melli U-23.

Ali Karimi is among the players selected by Nelo Vengada for the Olympics team which is currently in a training programs which includes several camps and international friendly matches. The next match will be in Jordan. With the start of the Persian Gulf Football league only days away , Sepahan Esfahan club opted not to release their forward for the camp as the team needed to focus on the league with several difficult matches ahead.

The release of the players to the national teams’ non- official competition, which is completely up to the judgment of the club, has apparently created a wave of discontent in the FFIRI. In an internal memo from Mehdi Taj to Ayottlahei , both discussed the possibility of a sanctions against Sepahan calling the club a repeat offender following its refusal to release the player for Team Melli fo the South Africa camp while it was still engaged in the AFC Champions League.

Sepahan released an official statement sharply criticizing the federation personnel for lack of understanding of the law. The statement said that it will deal with the matter when Sepahan Management receives and official correspondence from the FFIRI regarding this matter. Sepahan is preparing the team under the Croat coach Kranjcar.

It is not clear why the FFIRI is so blatantly acting ignorant on FIFA’s regulations that governs the release of players , a law that has been discussed umpteen times before Iran’s participation in the World Cup. It could very well be just bullying tactics by the FFIRI to intimidate clubs to release their players despite the commitment of these clubs to play in domestic and/or continental leagues. In both cases of the scenario,  it one conducts unbecoming from the very people who are supposed to uphold and abide by the rules.