The ex-Esteghlal and Team Melli player, Fereydoon Zandi was rushed to hospital after a horrible tackle that broke his leg and threatened his career as a footballer.
The incident happened during the match between Al Ahli and the newly promoted club Al Muaither. In the 80th minute a wild tackle by Georgi Gikalov hit the worst possible area of Zandi Leg who fell on the ground in severe pain and was immediately taken off the field. Zandi was taken to Espitar sport hospital and went immediately under operation.
The irony of that match which was stopped for 5 minutes while attending to Zandi, was that the player who broke Zandi's leg was awarded the Most Valuable Player title to the utter disgust of Al Ahlii club and its supporters. The Manager of Al Ahlii said that this selection is a blatant disregard for for play.
The surgery took 4 hours under the supervision of Dr. Philip Landro one of the top sport surgeon in the world.
After the long surgery , with many well wishers, Zandi supporters and his family at attendance in the hospital, Dr. Landro informed the crowd that the operations was completely successful , and Zandi will be playing football in 6 months from now, if he wishes to do so.
Al Ahli won promotion last season under Milan Macala with Zandi playing a prominent part in the campaign after leaving Esteghlal to play in the Qatar Soccer League QSL.
Fereydoon Zandi hospitalized
After the announcement by the FFIRI that the federation has managed to agree terms with a local organization for sponsoring Team Melli to the FIFA World Cup 2014 following successful series of negotiations, Abbas Torabian stunned the media today by announcing that the deal has fell through because the representative of the sponsors did not turn up for the final meeting !.
According to FFIRI the details and the name of the sponsor would have been announced anytime soon.
The meeting on Sunday was supposed to be the formality where both parties of this sponsorship deal would have signed, sealed and delivered. The absence of the sponsor representative can only mean that the two parties have not agreed terms and conditions, despite what the Federation has led the public and the media to believe. According to Abbas Torabian , who is the head of the marketing division of the FFIRIR, among other posts, the deal was quite lucrative and would have covered all the expenses of Team Melli to the World Cup 2014 without the need of financial aids from the government.
With the failure of this deal, the FFIRI will have to start all over again. The loss of time and revenue will not be good news for Team Melli already suffering from the lack of funds in FFIRI to support its activities and training schedules.
Commenting on the deal breakdown, Torabian said “We had a fruitful meeting with this sponsors and we even had a meeting last night which lasted until 10 PM. We agreed to meet today (Sunday) for the final time to conclude and close the deal. However, they did not turn up!”
It is highly unlikely that the version of Torabian is the full truth. FFIRI have not been very transparent about this sponsorship deal and the selection criteria. FFIRI also refused to formally acknowledge if a tender was submitted in order for all interested organizations to bid. Despite the pressure from the media, the FFIRI kept all the news and events about the sponsorship negotiation close to their heart for fear that announcing details of talks might jeopardize the deal. However, the federation broke the good news a couple of weeks ago, in which they announced that an Iranian organization has been selected as the sponsors of Team Melli for the World Cup after gaining the confidence of the FFIRI. The preference of this, yet unnamed local Iranian organization, was despite the better offers from foreign organizations which would have meant a larger income. The refusal of accepting foreign sponsorship was due to cultural issues, as FFIRI announced, while citing that a signing of a sponsorship deal with the Local organization was imminent.
It was not to be, as the FFIRI is desperate to finds another sponsor soon.
Iran U16 team finished in style after defeating the UAE 3-0 to assure qualification to the final rounds of the AFC U-17 Championship, while UAE has to wait for the rest of the sub-group results.
While the UAE were considered to be the toughest opponents in the group, the match on Sunday was far from a severe teat for the young Iranians as they scored what looked like an easy win. Two goals in the first half , first by Shekari on the half an hour mark , then by the prolific Mokhatri in the injury time, ensure a good margin for Iran at the end of the half.
With only a couple of minutes into the second half, the fate of the Arab team was sealed after Mokhatri added his second and Iran's third. The Iranian never looked back while UAE despite their efforts were left cursing their luck.
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Iran U-16 continued its perfect record in the AFC U-16 Asian Cup qualifiers by beating host Pakistan 2-0. In the match played in the Punjab stadium in Lahore, the Iranian youngsters scored a goals in each half to wrap up the match and qualify for the final rounds of the competition.
Captain Nima Mokhtari scored on the half hour mark for Iran to take his personal tally to 3 goals in the competition while substitute Mohammad Shamsi added a second in the late stages of the second half.
Iran has 6 points from 2 games , same as the UAE who beat Sri Lanka 6-0. Iran will be meeting UAE on Sunday in the final match. The result of that match is academical as both the teams have qualified for the final tournament.
Pakistan vs. Iran
0-2 (0-1)
GOALS: Nima Mokhtari (30'), Mohammad Shamsi (78')
27-09-2013
Punjab Stadium, Lahore,
Referee Khamis Al Merri (Qatar)
Iran: Farid Nejatpashaki, Nima Daghestani, Fathollah Darzi, Saeed Hasseinpour (62' Hesam Soltanpour), Vahid Aftari, Reza Shekarighezelghayeh (77' Bagher Niari), Reza Karimipiraghoom (52' Mohammad Shamsi), Nima Mokhtari (c), Mehrdad Pour Abdoghasem, Reza Dehghani, Mehran Derakhshanmehr.
Mehdi Mahdavikia was highly critical of the commotion and the controversies created in the aftermath of the Sepahan Perspolis match. The ex-Team Melli player who has recently retired from football was speaking to the ISNA reporter about the progress of Iran’s U-17 team which is currently in a training camp in Germany.
Mahdavikia was asked to express his thoughts about the storm created by Perspolis coach Ali Daei and the club CEO Mohammad Rouyanian after the duo explicitly accused the referee of the match against Sepahan , Mohsen Ghahremani , of corruption, bribery and favoritism. the ex-Perspolis player , who spent most of his professional career in Germany , said “Unfortunately, all the news we hear nowadays about Iranian football is negative. Instead of promoting the beautiful side of football, these people are creating controversies and ugly side of the game. Problems exist in many countries where football is played, but it is dealt with by civilized and dignified manner. If there are cases of suspicion of corruption, it has to be pursued legally and in quiet manner with the appropriate authorities.”
“In Iran , it is all different. Because of the popularity and influence of the club, these people utilize the media, as the newspapers seem to be more than willing to use hot news, to talk and I mean only talk about so-called corruption in football. In doing so , they are publicly prosecuting a person and put him on trial without following the proper procedures or use ethical means. If these people are genuine and have a case, then they need to refer the case to the authorities by using legal channels. They do not need to create a storm of controversy. By such improper action, all they achieve is to give the wrong impression to the fans and especially the young ones about the affair of football. This puts the football’s reputation of the country in disrepute” continued the soft-spoken Mahdavikia
Mahdavikia in Perspolis jersey.
“About the scene that created all this controversy, in the limitation of the TV angle, it looked like Sepahan defender committed the initial foul, built it is difficult to say for sure. The referee was close to the scene and he is the only person who can call the shots and it is what the referee saw that resulted in his action. If it is only dependent on the TV angle, then it seems that the referee made a mistake.”
Mahdavika was asked about his role in preparing the training camp for Iran’s U-17 team in Germany. The reporter asked “ what do you have to say that if it was not for Mahdavkia using his influence and connections, this camp would not have been arranged.?”
The ex-Hamburg and Eintracht Frankfurt player said” I have a lot of respect for Doustimeher. He was my coach and mentor and I owe my success to him. It is repay time and I am honored to be in a position to help him set up the camp. The problem, as many people are aware of, is the football federation financial situation. The federation is in a dire financial situation which does not enable it to support many of its plans. I have been working with Doustimer for some time now and he informed me that we might end up going to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in October without a camp or meaningful friendly preparation matches.”
“On a visit to Germany, I sought the assistant of a good friend of mine, Dr. Naraghi in Germany, who is in food processing business, and Mr. Hedayati in Iran and we managed to arrange and finance a training camp for the young players in Germany. I am personally very happy that we have managed this achievement under the difficult circumstances. We also succeeded in picking up some good teams for friendly matches. They are in an older age group than our U-17 team; nevertheless they will be good tests for our boys”
Asked about his role with the U-17 team, Mahdavikia said that the federation has included him in the technical team and he will be accompanying Dousitmehr with the team in the UAE for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Mahdavikia also said that the project of arranging a farewell testimonial match for him with Perspolis is cancelled. The Ex Perspolis Captain said that he did not want to put any pressure or undue burden on Perspolis which having its own share of financial problem. “As such I am not willing for the club to arrange a testimonial match in Tehran. Instead that testimonial match will be arranged by Hamburg SV probably in Germany.”
Iran's U-16 team routed Sri Lanka 8-0 in the opening match of the AFC Asian U-16 championship qualifiers in Lahore, Pakistan.
The match was a one sided affair with the first half ending 5-0 in favor of Team Melli. 3 more goals was scored in the second half for an easy win to the championship contenders. In the other group match , UAE managed to beat host Pakistan 2-0 to share the top of the table , with Iran leading on goal difference.
Iran's U-16 next match will be on Friday against host Pakistan.
AFC U-16 Championship
Qualifications Round - Group E
Iran - Sri Lanka
8-0 (5-0)
25-09-2013
Punjab Stadium, Lahore,
Referee: Dmitrii Mashentsev (Kyrgyzstan)
GOALS: Reza Karimipiraghoom (13' , 25') , Fathollah Darzi (30'), Reza Shekarighezelghayeh (37') ,Nima Mokhtari (67',85'), Ali Khodadadi (68')Iran: Farid Nejatpashaki, Mahdi Abdollahvand, Nima Daghestani (55' Ali Khodadadi) , Fathollah Darzi, Mostafa Rokhbinzadeh, Saeed Hasseinpour (67' Vahid Aftari), Reza Shekarighezelghayeh, Reza Karimipiraghoom (46' Mohammad Shamsi), Nima Mokhtari (c),Reza Dehghani,Bagher Niari Shamasbi
Iran's Beach soccer bowed out of the 2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World cup after a gallant display against the defending Champions, Russia.
Russia , who recovered a two-goal deficit to edge Iran 6-5 , booked a FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup semi-final date with hosts Tahiti. Dmitrii Shishin, the star of a stunning upset of Brazil in the Ravenna 2011 decider, settled an engrossing game in the defending champions’ favor with just 124 seconds remaining. The game which saw both teams exchanging the lead in three periods of the match was heading for a 5-5 draw and extra time, when a hopeful mild shot form the Russian Shishin bounced off an Iranian defender leg to end up in the roof of the net with Team Melli's goalkeeper Hosseini at full stretch, but unable to save it and .
Russia were the heavy favorites before kick-off, but they were given a grueling examination in Papeete. Moslem Mesigar and Farid Boulokbashi fired Iran into a 2-0 lead and although Egor Eremeev swiftly pulled one back, the Asians’ stellar marking and physical approach largely stifled Mikhail Likhachev’s game plan for long periods.
Yury Krasheninnikov did equalize midway through the second period, before Anatoliy Peremitin capitalised on a seldom defensive error to put Russia ahead for the first time. That advantage lasted just 12 seconds as Boulokbashi thumped home his second to ensure the teams began the concluding third at deadlock.
Mesigar completed his brace shortly after the restart to restore Iran’s lead, but Russia began to exact their superiority thereafter. Goals from Kirill Romanov and Eremeev sent the Europeans 5-4 ahead, only for Mohammad Ahmadzadeh to level the scores, against the run of play, on 32 minutes.
Likhachev urged his charges to find a winner and cometh the hour, cometh the man. That man was the ever-reliable Shishin, who netted an engrossing contest’s 11th and final goal to keep the Russian dream alive and move himself joint-top of the tournament's scoring chart.
Russia and Tahiti, who stunned Argentina 6-1 in their quarter-final, will now have a one-day rest before meeting on Saturday for a place in the final.
Fulham manager Martin Jol has warned winger Ashkan Dejagah that he must fight for a place in the starting XI.
The Iranian international made 24 appearances for the club last season before an ankle injury sustained against Queens Park Rangers prevented him from competing in the final two months of the campaign.
However, Dejagah has played just once for the Whites this term, in the Capital One Cup win at Burton in August, and appears to be down the pecking order at Craven Cottage.
[box title="Martin Joll , Fulham coach" style="bubbles" radius="10"]"I want a number one in every position. They have to fight for their place."[/box]
Bryan Ruiz and Damien Duff are ahead in Jol's plans while 20-year-old Buomesca Tue Na Bangna was preferred for Saturday's 2-0 derby defeat at the hands of Chelsea.
Martin Jol has demanded high standards from the former Wolfsburg attacker.
"I want a number one in every position," he told the Fulham Chronicle. "On that wing I've got Dejagah, Damien Duff, Bryan Ruiz and Mesca. They have to fight for their place.
"The only thing I say to Dejagah is you have to show us that you're the number one, and the same applies to Damien."
The 27-year-old joined Fulham on a three-year deal in 2012 from Bundesliga side Wolfsburg for a reported fee of 2.5million euros. Dejagah did not feature in the Capital Cup match against Everton last night.
In the ‘Navad’ TV show , the same program that Daei likes to ridicule and criticize when he fancies, the Perspolis coach has stunned millions of Iranian viewers by his revelations and accusations of corruption and bribery in the domestic league.
Speaking to Ferdouwsipour on telephone, Daei said that he has evidence and documents to prove that corruption exists in the league and his team was victimized by the referee Mohsen Gharemani who sent off Perspolis defender a few minutes into the game. When asked about the evidence that he has , Daei rebuffed the presenter and told him that he is not here to be investigated and he does not have to answer to the presenter of “Navad” show. “It is the football federation’s job to investigate and ask for evidence. I do not need to explain myself for you her. All the evidence that I have was presented to the FFIRI in our meeting today.” Daei said.
Rouyanian , CEO of Perspolis club and Ali Daei were summoned to the headquarters of FFIRI in the aftermath of their accusation for a hearing with the top brass of FFIRI on Monday.
Daei's wrath
The blazing accusations boarding insults and ridicule towards the match referee Mohsen Ghahremani who was on the other phone line included not just poor decision making and poor vision , that Daei accused the referee of in a live TV broadcast , but also included a direct accusation of match fixing and bribery. Daei explicitly mentioned that Gharemani was leaning towards Sepahan and was paid for it. When Ferdowsipour asked Daei to elaborate what he means about leaning , the Pesrpolis coach played on the words and refused to provide a direct answer by saying “it is sufficient that that all the evidence that I have , are already submitted to the proper authorities “ , The authority is the football federation ethics committee. When pressed further to mention what type of evidence Ali Daei has regarding the corruption accusation , Daei responded by saying that the Match footage is the greatest of evidences!.
As a consequence to that, many recent news and developments in relation to bribery scandals in Iran’s football came to light. There was footage of an Azadegan league Club CEO who gave details of a referee who allegedly demanded a bribe in order to fix a match for the club. The CEO apparently named many people , although IRIB censored those names for legal reasons. Further to those accusations, the longtime member of the disciplinary committee Alipour , was interviewed regarding these accusations and detailed description by the Azadegan league Club CEO. Alipour confirmed that they have also received such information, however , every time they requested that CEO to attend a hearing , he kept coming up with excuses of ill health. The matter was never fully investigated by the federation.
Azadegan corruption scandal
What the FFIRI firmly acted upon was the scandal of last year in the Azadegan league ( First Division). This was by far the biggest corruption scandal that shock Iran. The main Instigator & culprit was Shahrdari Tabriz team which won the title and promotion to the top flight of Persian Gulf League. After what was a deemed to be a rapid accelerated investigations, the federation found that Shahrdari Tabriz was guilty of match fixing in collaboration with another team , Chalamsheh. Shahrdari was stripped of the tile and the promotion while the other team was relegated down to the third division. The two teams match was fixed for a Shahrdari win which would assure the Tabriz team of promotion. Many famous names were involved in this scandal, including Fraz Kamalvand, a well know coach, Sadegh Varmazyar , ex-Team Melli player who was the assistant coach, Peyman Sahib Jaamei , another well know footballer originally from Khuzestan. All of the three were found guilty on several counts of corruption, and subsequently were suspended from all football activities up to two years. There were also other players involved who received lighter punishments such as Sheys Rezai , the controversial ex-Perspolis defender who also made a brief appearance as Team Melli player, Mehdi Vaezi and Ali Alizadeh all of who represented Team Melli.
Courts of Law
All sort of accusations of match fixing , favoritism , and bribery has been circulating in Iran football in the last few years, however apart from the aforementioned Azadegan league scandal, none was seriously investigated or dealt with by the football federation or by the courts of law. What the federation has failed to do is to take a stern action against the profligates. When people started spreading accusation or rumors, there was no action taken to stop them or demand proof of their accusations. As such, those accusation took the round and very easily reached the stands where the fans became disillusioned by this football. In general , there is a lot of trash talk but little action, however , with Ali Daei’s recent accusations which is nothing but allegations at this point that requires full investigation and proof, it is clear that match fixing and bribery which has been suspected to be widespread in Iran’s football, is a reality that has to be immediately and forcefully dealt with by the law and the courts in Iran. Simply depending on a weak federation with lethargy and hesitancy to rock the boat, is a time bomb.
Iran's Beach Soccer team qualified for the quarter finals of FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup despite the loss against Ukraine
Ukraine have scored a hard-fought 3-2 win over Iran but it was not good enough for the Europeans who missed the knockout stage.
The match was a tight and bruising affair throughout with scores tied 1-1 at the first interval with goals from Iran’s Mohammad Ahmadzadeh and Ukraine’s Andrii Borsuk.
Olexandr Kornichuk put the Europeans in front at the midway point of the middle period with a superb strike.
Iran looked more dangerous in the third period but Ukraine goalkeeper Vitalii Sydorenko remained a challenging obstacle. Captain Igor Borsuk then put his side ahead with another excellent strike for the Ukrainians.
Goalkeeper Peymann Hosseini reduced the deficit late on, leaving Ukraine chasing more goals to have any hope of progressing.
Ukraine put a field player on goal in the last minute, but that was not enough to avoid elimination despite the victory.
