Tag: Panionios

Official: Ehsan Hajsafi signs with AEK Athens.

Team Melli Captain Ehsan Hajsafy joined the Greek club AEK Athens. HajSafi who traveled to Athens after finishing his season with Sepahan in the 20th edition of the Persian Gulf League, officially signed a contract with the Greek side this evening. The contract of the captain of the Iranian national team with this club is until the end of the summer of 2023.

Hajsafi will be joining Karim Ansarifard in AEK Athens.

Hajsafi (31 years) previously played for Panionios in the 2017–2018 season and played 14 matches scoring 1 goal before moving briefly to 2018 Olympiacos where he played 6 times and scored 1 goal. AEK is one of the three most successful teams in Greek football (including Olympiacos and Panathinaikos), winning 30 national titles. The team is coached by the Serbian Vladan Milojević.

Hajsafi has played 113 games for Team Melli since his debut against Zambia in a friendly in May 2008. He scored 6 goals for Team Melli.

FIFA Demands Explanation Over Ousted Iranian Footballers

FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association), has demanded the Islamic Republic to provide further information over its decision to drop two footballers from Iran’s national team, after they played for their Greek side against an Israeli team.

Captain of Iran’s National Football team, Masoud Shojaei and his teammate, Ehsan Hajsafi played for full ninety minutes in their Greek team, Panionios home match in Athens against the Israeli club, Maccabi Tel Aviv on Wednesday, August 3.

The midfielders were not present at the away match in Israel.

Nevertheless, Iran’s Football federation last week strongly condemned their participation in the home leg of the matches.

Meanwhile, conservatives in Iran bombarded the pair with threats.

“Hajsafi and Shojaei’s move in no way constitutes endorsement and it will certainly be addressed according to regulations and the law,” said Director of Security at Iran’s Sports Ministry, Mohammad Javad Ababaf, adding, “Most probably the pair are going to lose their spots in the national squad. Nevertheless, we should wait for officials’ final verdict.”

Then, on Thursday, August 10, Ministry of Sports’ deputy, Mohammad Reza Davarzani put the final nail in the coffin, declaring, “Both footballers have lost their spot on Iranian National Team… they crossed Iran’s red line”.

Previously it was announced that the final verdict will be issued after a person to person interview with Shojaei and Hajsafi.

FIFA’s statutes ban political interference in its affiliated national associations, which can be suspended if the rule is breached.

Argentina's Lionel Messi fights for the ball against Iran's Mehrdad Pouladi (L) and Ehsan Hajsafi (R) during their 2014 World Cup Group F soccer match. June 21, 2014

Argentina’s Lionel Messi fights for the ball against Iran’s Mehrdad Pouladi (L) and Ehsan Hajsafi (R) during their 2014 World Cup Group F soccer match. June 21, 2014

“We are currently monitoring the matter and will request additional information from the Iran Football Federation,” said a FIFA spokesperson in an emailed statement to Reuters. “We have no further comment for the time being.”

If a country’s FA is suspended, it means both the national team and its clubs are barred from international competition.

Iran has already qualified for next year’s World Cup, making it an especially delicate matter for FIFA.

FIFA statutes state that “each member association shall manage its affairs independently and without undue influence from third parties”.

However, positive reactions to the pair’s move on social media were quite significant. In most comments, Shojaei and Hajsafi were praised for their courageous “professionalism” and respect for sports international regulations.

There were also comments that branded the move as “an end to the regime’s injustice against Iranian athletes”.

Moreover, a twitter campaign labelled as #NoBan4Ourplayers has been launched by Iranians to defend Shojaei and Hajsafi’s “courageous move”, protest against their elimination from the national side and raise concerns over its consequences.

An internationally known former Iranian football star, Mehdi Mahdavi Kia wrote on his Instagram account, “The moments you made people of Iran joyous will never be forgotten. Let’s hope for the day that politics leaves sports behind and action replaces words”.

Team Melli Captain chastised by fundementalists.

 Ehsan HajSafy and Masoud Shojaei , the two Panionios players who faced Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. have been chastised by extremist elements of the Basij for playing against what it called the enemy of the people! The two Iranian players who play professional football for the Greek Team, have been both involved in the match UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round, Game 2 played in Stadio Néas Smírnis on Thursday, August 3. The Israeli team won 1-0 away and advanced to the next stage of the UEFA Europa League while Panionios was eliminated from that European competition.

HajSafy and Shojaei training with the Greek club

In a communique full of religious and zealous rhetoric from a group calling itself  “Sazman Basij Varzeshkaran” virtually translated into “Organization of Mobilized Athletes”  it accused Team Melli Captain Masoud Shojaei and ex-Sepahan left back Ehsan Haj Safy of betraying the Islamic cause by playing against the Israeli team. It is believed that this shadowy group belongs to the large and omnipresent paramilitary organization with multifaceted roles, which acts as the eyes and ears of the Islamic regime. It is present in schools, universities, state and private institutions, factories, and even among tribes. It is an extremist ideological organization which has very little popular support amongst the Iranians; however, it has considerable power because of its close working relations with the clergy and the ruling religious hierarchy.

The Basij , with its many arms , is the main oppressors of the Iranian youth both male but especially females. Their extremist views on religion and forcing hijabs and Islamic dress code on females have made them the people’s enemy number 1. Their anti-western values, is also not going down well in the younger Iranians communities and circles.

The Greek first division club Panionios, respected the Iranians wish not to travel to Israel for the away leg due to the political issues and allowed them both to stay at home. However, in Athens, it was a different story. There was no reason for the Iranians not to play in Greece and refusal to play would have been interpreted as demonstrating political opposition which is against the rules of UEFA and FIFA.

The two players are the only known athletes in post-revolution Iran who have indeed played against Israeli teams or competed against individual Israeli athletes.

It is not clear if the two players will face sanction by the FFIRI or any other government authority. Team Melli , already qualified for the FIFA World Cup, will be playing South Korea late this month. Both Shojaei and Haj Safy are important and fixed players of the squad. Sources close to the Football Federation in Tehran believe that the two players have consulted FFIRI before the match and quietly received the green light to play against Maccabi.  This could not be confirmed officially.

 

Ansarifard Joins Olympiacos

Team Melli striker Karim Ansarifard has joined the Greek giants Olympiacos from Panionios on a three-and-a-half year contract and a reported fee of €400,000 on Friday.

The 26-year-old who made a name for himself in Greek Super league with Panionios after scoring 11 goals in 36 appearances in all competitions last season, had offers from AEK, PAOK FC, Feyenoord and Olympique de Marseille. This current season, Karim has scored 5 goals and provided 3 assists in 14 matches.


Olympiacos is currently leading the table in the Greek Super League with 37 points from 14 games under tutelage of Portuguese coach Paolo Bento who was appointed in August 2016.

Olympiacos has qualified for the round of 32 in UEFA Europa League and they will take Turkish side Osmanlispor in a two-leg clash.
Although it was initially reported that Ansarifard would remain at Panionios until the end of the 2016-17 season, the contract he eventually signed is effective from the January 2017 transfer window.


Karim started his professional career in 2007 with Saipa before moving to Iranian league giant Persepolis in 2012. After 2014 World Cup Ansarifard moved to Spanish Segunda division Osasuna where he was mostly used as a bench-warmer.
A move to Panionios in the summer of 2015 saved his career as his good performance caught the eye of big teams and finally Olympiacos signed him.

Team Melli forwards score in Europe.

Two Iranian players scored for their teams in European leagues to help their clubs grab three points in their respective leagues.

In London ,  Sheffield Wednesday delivered their worst performance of the season as they crashed to a 3-1 defeat at managerless Charlton Athletic this afternoon. Iranian contribution came from the recently injury recovered Team Melli forward , Reza Ghoochannejhad.

in the 55th minute Ghoochannejhad tapped in inside the six-yard box following a lovely move involving Makienok and Fox to score Charlton’s third goal.

While in Greece Panionios ‘s Karim Ansarifard scores the winner for his team vs. Platanias to keep his club challenge for a runner-up position ans a place in the European competition. Ansarifard chipped the ball inside the net beating the opponents keeper. 

 

For both players,  Reza Ghoochannejhad and Karim Ansarifard, scoring was quite timely as the pair have suffered difficult periods of dearth of goals for club and country. The two crucial matches in Tehran and away to Guam this week will go a long way in determining the final ranking of the table in the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers Group D. Both players are included in Carlos Queiroz list.  Ghoochannejhad’s goal is especially welcome after the player has suffered a long-term injury which put him out of action for months.

 

 

FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualification

Asian Zone

Round 1

GROUP D

#   Team MP W D L F A D P Last 5 matches
1 Previous rank: 2 Oman 5 3 2 0 9 3 +6 11 WDDWW
2 Previous rank: 1 Iran 4 2 2 0 11 2 +9 8 DWWD
3 Previous rank: 4 Turkmenistan 5 2 1 2 5 6 -1 7 WWLDL
4 Previous rank: 3 Guam 5 2 1 2 3 8 -5 7 LDLWW
5   India 5 0 0 5 3 12 -9 0 LLLLL