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Anger in Iran as AFC plays politics again

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has moved two Asian Champions League matches out of Iran citing security concerns in the country.

In a statement on Twitter, the AFC said on Wednesday that two home matches involving Iranian teams "have been moved to neutral venues because of ongoing security concerns and the decision of several governments to issue travel warnings to the Islamic Republic of Iran".

The games, originally scheduled for Tuesday, will now be held on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates, the governing body for Asian football said. The decision came despite threats of a boycott from Iran, which has four teams playing in the continental club competition.

A spokesman for Iran's President Hassan Rouhani slammed the AFC's decision as a political move.

"This is an unsporting and unprofessional move," he was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

There was no immediate comment from Iran's football federation

The four Iranian clubs competing in the AFC Champions League - Persepolis, Sepahan, Esteghlal, and Shahr Khodro - told the AFC on Monday they would only turn up for the games if they were allowed to host their games in Iran, according to IRNA.

When news of the AFC decision initially became public, Iran's Sport and Youth Minister, Masoud Soltanifar, told reporters the move was "totally political and unathletic" based on "false pretexts of lack of security and safety of aerial routes to Iran", according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.

The AFC's move has prompted anger in Iran. A young football fan in Tehran, Hojat Vafaee, described the decision as a "purely political decision taken under the pressure of some Arab countries".

He called on FIFA, football's world governing body, to intervene and defend Iran's rights, saying its president, Gianni Infantino "was here in Tehran last year and he has seen the spectacular and safe atmosphere of our stadiums".

Ali, a 20-year-old supporter of Sepahan, a major sports club from Esfahan in central Iran, also slammed the decision.

"The AFC always says Iran has the best and greatest football fans in Asia and take so much credit for itself. But because of politics, they close their eyes on the feeling of millions of Iranian football fans," he told Al Jazeera. "We've always been told that politics should be kept out of sports, but yet we see it happening by AFC itself."

Many took to social media in protest, using hashtags including "Shame_On_AFC", "ACLneedIranianfans" and "AFC_Iran_Is_Safe". Many criticized the decision on AFC's Instagram account.

Gianni De Biasi close to becoming Team Melli's new coach

After the years spent on Albania's bench, achieving a historic qualification for the 2016 European Championships, Gianni De Biasi is ready to start again for another national team.

After the unfortunate and unhappy experience of Andrea Stramaccioni with Esteghlal Club, it seems that another Italian is ready to land in Iran. This time it is Gianni De Biasi who is very close to becoming the coach of Iran's Team Melli.

As reported by Gianluca Di Marzio, the former Albanian coach has received an offer of a 30 months contract, with the aim of qualification to the World Cup for which the Iranian national team is competing. The deal could be closed within 48 hours.

Gianni De Biasi is ready for a new adventure at the head coach of a national team. The coach, 64 years old in June, is in fact ever closer to the agreement to become the Iran coach. The Iranian Federation offered him a 30-month contract, also thinking about the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Iran has participated in 5 World Cups and has qualified for the last two played in Brazil and Russia (2014 and 2018) in addition to three championships in the AFC Asian Cup (in the last edition of 2019 the Iranian national team was stopped in the semifinals). The deal should be closed by the end of the week.

A new adventure after Albania

For De Biasi it would be the second experience on a bench of a national team. In fact, the coach led Albania from 2011 to 2017, leading to a historic qualification for the 2016 European Championships. A success that made him become a real idol in Tirana, so much so that he was awarded the honorary Albanian citizenship
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (L), the captain of Albania's national soccer team, Lorik Cana (C) and Albania's national football team head coach Gianni De Biasi review an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony at Mother Teresa airport in Tirana on June 23, 2016. Albania's Euro 2016 squad was welcomed home on June 23 with a formal red-carpet ceremony and National Guard troops on its return from the country's first ever participation at a European Championship. / AFP / GENT SHKULLAKU (Photo credit should read GENT SHKULLAKU / AFP via Getty Images)

UAE steps in as secure host for Iranian clubs’ opening games in Asian Champions League

January 22 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed it is moving two Asian Champions League preliminary matches out of Iran to neutral venues because of security concerns, a move that has infuriated Iranian authorities.

Shahr Khodro FC were scheduled to host Bahrain’s Riffa and Esteghlal FC were set to play Kuwait SC on Tuesday but both were postponed and rescheduled for the United Arab Emirates at the weekend.

“To help facilitate the switch to neutral venues, which has been approved by the relevant AFC committees, the AFC will now reschedule the games to January 25, 2020 in the United Arab Emirates,” the AFC said in a brief statement.

Apart from the AFC brief statement, there is no clear explanation of what those security concerns are.

Iran has already threatened to boycott the tournament altogether over the ban on staging home games, saying they will withdraw all four of their clubs which also include Persepolis and Sepahan .

But there is precedent. Iran also threatened to boycott the tournament when matches against Saudi teams were switched to neutral venues before relenting.

Persepolis have been drawn to meet Al Duhail from Qatar, Saudi Arabia’s Al Taawon and United Arab Emirates champions Sharjah in the group phase of this year’s competition. Sepahan are slated to meet Saudi champions Al Nassr, Qatar’s Al Sadd and a qualifier from the play-offs.

Hrvoje Milić : "Never felt safer in my life like walking in Tehran"

Hrvoje Milić the Esteghlal Croatian player expressed his disappointment and surprise by the decision of AFC to ban Iranian clubs from playing at home.

"I have never felt vulnerable on the streets of Tehran," he said, stressing that Iran was safe.  "I have never felt safer while walking in Tehran". "The way Iranians treat foreigners is remarkable, very friendly and hospitable. They go out of their way to help or guide you. I have always told my family that the Iranian people are courteous and  hospitable"

Hrvoje Milić the Estghlal Croatian player

The 30 years old Croatian footballer continued: "Life in this country is like any other country. People go to their workplaces and kids go to school. Personally, I would not have gone back to Iran if I felt that Iran was an unsafe place or there is a risk to my life.  I would have loved to play against the Kuwaiti team in front of 100,000 supporters, but this decision by AFC has deprived and surprised me from such experience."

Esteghlal was scheduled to play Al-Kuwait Club in Azadi in the preliminary rounds of the AFC Champions League before AFC shocked Iran football by banning Iranian teams from hosting their matches.

Persepolis, Sepahan and Shahr Khodro have collectively refused to give up their legal rights of playing and hosting games in Iran.

Iran football body slams AFC ban on hosting international matches

The Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) has said it would stand up to the "illegal" decision by the Asian Football Confederation AFC to prevent the country from hosting any international matches on Iranian soil.

Federation Acting Chief Heidar Baharvand said the federation and managers of the four teams playing in the AFC Champions League held an extraordinary meeting on Saturday and decided unanimously to reject the decision.

"The Iranian Football Federation, clubs and officials unitedly oppose it and will definitely stand up to this decision," said Bahrvand.

Baharvand told state television that if the ban was not reversed, all teams would withdraw from the AFC Champions League. Iran has four teams - Persepolis, Esteghlal, Sepahan and Shahr Khodro - in the AFC Champions League.

The federation on Friday said it had received a letter from the AFC saying all matches involving Iranian clubs would be held at a neutral venue.

The Iranians did not say if any reason was given or if the decision was related to the accidental downing of a Ukrainian jetliner last week and the tension between the United States and Iran in the wake of the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani.

Iran is reeling under a "maximum pressure" campaign by the US after President Donald Trump pulled his country out of a landmark nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.

AFC to meet on Sunday

A federation official on Friday said Iran's sports ministry had provided the required security guarantees to the AFC and pointed out that the country hosted the final of the 2018 edition at Tehran's Azadi Stadium.

The AFC's position is still reversible as the body's executive committee is scheduled to hold a session on Sunday to make a final decision.

"We must host matches because this is our people's right. We should not deprive our spectators in hosting games. This is our absolute right and we insist on it," Bahrvand said.

FFIRI spokesman Amir Mahdi Alavi was quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency as saying Iran is "fully ready to host various teams as it has repeatedly proven during the past several years".

Meanwhile, Persepolis club's chief executive director Mohammad Hassan Ansarifard said there is "no safer space in the Middle East and West Asia than Iran".

"It is the right of Iranian teams to benefit from the presence of their spectators," he said, according to the club's website.

Iran's men's football team has participated in 14 editions of the AFC Asian Cup, winning three titles since the country's first appearance in 1968.

The AFC ban has angered fans in Iran, where football is the most popular sport. Social media posts with the hashtag #ACLneedIranFans trended on Twitter.

The  AFC has not published the justifications behind this ban and if the proper mechanism has been activated to reach such a decision. Insiders claim that there has been pressure applied by the Arab countries to apply this ban lead by Kuwait, despite the fact that the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) chairman Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah intervened to side with Iran on this issue..

There is no UN Security Council declaration that Iran is indeed a war zone., while Saudi Arabia which is at war in Yemen and has been subjected to missiles and drone airstrikes one of which nearly destroyed the Abqiq Oil processing facility. (see below)

A photograph taken by the commercial satellite company Planet shows the Abqaiq facility shortly after an attack on Sept. 14.

Futsal star Abolgasim Ourooji banned for doping

Team Melli and Mes Songoon futsal player Abolgasim Ourooji has been slapped with a 4 years ban for doping.

Sayed Mohammed Nazem al-Sharia The head coach of the Iranian futsal team in an interview with ISNA in response to the four-year ban on national team player Arouji said: "The player has inadvertently taken medication for personal problems that had nothing to do with futsal but the medicine was listed on the banned subtances. It was unfortunate and that led to his ban. Doping is a misdemeanor that is not easily overcome and there is a lot of rigorous rules around it. No matter how hard an athlete claims otherwise, to turn such verdict is truly out of reach"

the 30 years old Ourooji has been in and out of the Futsal Team Melli since 2014. He won the AFC Championship title with Iran in 2018.

His accolades include winning the AFC AFC Futsal Club Championship twice  2015 (Tasisat Daryaei) and 2018 (Mes Sungun) and the Runner-Up medals twice as well: 2017 (Giti Pasand Isfahan) and 2019 (Mes Sungun)

Abolgasim Ourooji who was tested positive in November of last year maintains his innocence, however, the strict testing procedures laid down by WADA leave very little doubt about the credibility of the results which passes several processes until confirmed positive.

Iran will take part in the 16th edition of AFC Futsal Championship 2020  next month as defending champions. The biennial international futsal championship organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's national teams of Asia will be played in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan between 26 February and 8 March 2020. Abolgasim Ourooji  would have been part of the squad but for this long term ban.

Middle East Tensions Hurting Asian Soccer Ambitions

Steve Price

The Asian Football Confederation has reportedly banned Iran from hosting international matches based on safety fears over the current tensions in the region. Iranian club sides have responded by planning to withdraw from the AFC Asian Champions League. The clubs have said Iran is “safe”, while Iranian media and fans have claimed that politics, rather than security, is behind the AFC’s decision.

Iran are one of the top nations in the Asian Champions League and has some of the best-supported clubs in Asia. Iranian clubs had a poor campaign last year, but the year before that, Persepolis reached the final of the competition. They, along with Esteghlal, Sepahan and Shahr Khodro, will withdraw from the competition should the AFC’s fixture ban not be reversed.

Iranian sides played their matches against Saudi Arabian sides on neutral territory last season, so the move by the AFC isn’t completely unprecedented. But playing any games on neutral territory is damaging to the competition’s reputation. When over 40,000 people turn up in Tehran to watch Estaghlal or Persepolis, it’s a much better advert for the Asian Champions League than when a thousand fans turn up in Doha to watch Estaglal’s ‘home’ match against Al-Hilal.

The Deby in Azadi Stadium

The absence of Iranian clubs in the competition would be similar to Italian clubs deciding to boycott the UEFA Champions League. Few other Asian countries can match Iran’s top clubs in terms of fans. The Asian Champions League is struggling to grow, with low attendance and regular scandals or other embarrassments, so having one of its most important members boycott the competition is the last thing the AFC needs.

But as well as damaging Asia’s main club competition, the current tensions could also damage the United Arab Emirates’ and Qatar’s attempts to bolster their sporting credentials.

The UAE and Qatar have benefited in the past from their relative stability compared to other countries in the region, often hosting ties that can’t be played at the home country’s stadium for security reasons. If Iran is banned from hosting international matches, then it is possible that Iran’s ‘home’ games would be played in the UAE or Qatar.

 

But it seems the current tensions in the Middle East have finally caught up with Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, as other soccer teams are staying away.

The USA men’s soccer team canceled its camp in Doha earlier this month due to the “developing situation in the region”, holding it in Florida instead. And last week Manchester United scrapped plans for a training trip to the Middle East in February, while Arsenal have said they are assessing security measures before deciding whether to head to Dubai for warm weather training.

A stadium in Qatar with empty seats

Qatar and the UAE have been popular destinations for these winter training camps in the past few seasons, with many of Europe’s top clubs heading there for the warm weather and high-quality facilities. Qatar’s FA says that “time and again, these teams return to AZF [Aspire Zone Foundation] to benefit from Qatar’s perfect outdoor training weather at this time of year.” This year, Bayern Munich, Ajax and PSV Eindhoven all used the Aspire facilities, apart from Ajax’s US international Sergino Dest who said he “didn’t feel comfortable” due to the tensions.

While showcase events like the Qatar 2022 World Cup or the Club World Cup might grab the headlines, these camps have been like a dripping tap, helping to slowly establish the two countries as reliable regional soccer hubs. With the teams come media, agents, sponsors and so forth, over time making the countries a good place for related businesses to set up offices, helping the local tourism sector, and boosting these countries’ soft power.

The Qatar 2022 World Cup and other showcase events are unlikely to be affected unless things really escalate in the region, but should the security situation in the region remain tense, top European clubs might decide to switch their future winter plans to Florida or to Spain and Portugal where many other clubs from around the world hold their winter training camps, putting a major dent in Qatar and the UAE’s aspirations to boost their global standing through sports.

It can only be AFC bias towards Iran. Politics at its worst.

It is an accepted practice that football ruling bodies would not allow official matches to be played in areas where there is a war-zone, conflicts, unrest or civilian disobedience.  It is simply to prevent harm to the players, officials, and fans.

The application of the rule has always been based on facts, data and real events. FIFA and other ruling bodies do not have the intelligence and the apparatus to truly judge on such situation, they mostly depend on organizations such as the Security Council of United Nations, unbiased government authorities or similar specialists to pass such a ban on playing in a certain country.

AFC case with Iran is certainly not based on any such fact or ruling. There is no United Nations communique on that matter nor is Iran a war zone or has declared war on any country. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia has been involved in a war with Yemen for 4 years, its cities have been bombed and could be exposed to acts of war at any time. The Yemeni forces have succeeded in hitting the most treasured energy sources deep inside Saudi Arabia, yet AFC in its wisdom does not consider this rich and influential country as a risk to anyone, despite being officially engaged in a war!!

So clearly the decision that Iranian teams have to play on neutral grounds and deprived of hosting is purely political decision influenced by the powerful Arab lobby headed and financed by Saudi Arabia.

It is no secret that the Saudi Influences has installed the current head of the AFC and what the Saudis say, AFC listens.

There is a lack of transparency on the reasons that AFC has declared Iranian cities unsafe and unless AFC provides credible evidence and facts then this is one is yet another evidence of bias towards Iran by the powerful Arab countries.

The Arabian bias has played a major role in Asian football from expelling Israel from the AFC to appointments of the Arab countries representatives in various posts, influencing major decisions, winning for Arab players and teams and even selecting Arabic language as an official while 3.5 billion people speaking Chinese and Hindi are not recognized or worthy of having their languages included in the AFC official website.

This bias against Iran which stems from the political animosity towards it from the Gulf Arab countries is supplemented by the weak representation and power of Iranian representatives in the AFC and its various committees. Many of these representatives are not worthy of sitting on a village council let alone representing Iran at International levels. So, it is expected that sympathy towards Iran is minimal in the AFC corridors, although it is not a question of sympathy. It is a question of facts, data, and proofs which are lacking in the AFC decision.

At the end of the day, if Iranian clubs withdraw, the AFC Champion League will be that much poorer. Matches are played in stadiums with crowds in hundred in West Asia. That is nowhere near what huge numbers that Perspolis and Esteghlal can attract in Azadi.

Iranian clubs threaten to withdraw from AFC Champions League

Iran's four teams in the Asian Football Confederation Champions League say they will refuse to play if they cannot host home games, says the Mehr news agency.

FFIRI , Iran'Football governing body has claimed the confederation (AFC) had banned its teams from staging fixtures in the country.

It said the AFC wanted fixtures involving Iranian teams to take place at neutral venues.

The move comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States.

The Iranian football federation said it would announce a "final position" in the "following days".

Iran has four teams - Persepolis, Esteghlal, Sepahan and Shahr Khodro - in the AFC Champions League, and they are expected to be consulted on Saturday.

However, the Mehr news agency said the clubs will send a joint letter to the AFC to say they will drop out if they cannot host games.

Persepolis and Esteghlal insisted they were in the "safest country in the Middle East".

Before the meeting, Persepolis chief executive Mohammad Hassan Ansarifard told the Mehr news agency the club will "certainly not participate" in the new Champions League season "if they insist on their decision".

Amir Mehdi Alavi, a spokesman for the Iranian football federation, said: "Iran has the full readiness to host teams and has proven this repeatedly in recent years."

Iranian clubs have suffered heavily because of AFC ruling favoring Saudi Arabian teams who refused to play in Iran based on the political decision rather than any logic or proof for their alleged safety concerns. Now, AFC has ruled that all matches are to be played outside of Iran. again without providing evidence or proof.

Transfer Rumours: Mehdi Taremi to FC Porto!

According to José Fernandes a journalist at the newspaper OGogo, Mehdi Taremi and FC Porto have already signed a pre-agreement for Rio Ave forward to join FC Porto.

Mehdi Taremi is Al-Gharafa player loaned to Rio Ave. The transfer is imminent according to the journalist but highly dependent on whether Tiquinho Soares's deal with AS Roma is finalized.

Taremi has been in an excellent form season with the middle of the table Rio Ave in the Portuguese League. The 27 Years old former Persepolis and IranJavan Busheher player has scored 8 goals this season, 5 goals in the league and 3 in the cup competition.  This is despite an injury he suffered earlier in the season which placed him on the injury list for a few weeks. Taremi has been a regular starter for Rio Ave and registered several assists on top of his goals.

Porto's interest in Mehdi Taremi is significant as they are one of the top teams in Portugal. They have been dominating the Portuguese football along with Benfica. Porto has won the league 28 times with season 2017/18 being the last. PC Porto won the UEFA Champions League twice in 1986/87 and 2003/04 seasons. They also won the UEFA Cup twice and the UEFA Super Cup once in 1987. The club has a strong European pedigree. The other Portuguese icon, Benfica is currently leading the table with 45 points while FC Porto is second on 41 with 16 games played.  FC Porto head coach is Sérgio Conceição

The transfer of Taremi to FC Porto required the agreement of the Qatari club Al-Gharafa.