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.
On Tuesday, Iran will play Vietnam in the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium to consolidate the lead in the group of 2 teams.
In the other group, Host Thailand will start the tournament later today against Morocco, while Mozambique is the third team in the group.
The tournament is the ideal preparation for Iran's Futsal team ahead of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup in Kuwait.
Rogério de Sá who was on the bench of the Egyptian national team when he first worked with Queiroz, referring to the problems and challenges ahead for the World Cup said "the heat and humidity of Qatar will be a challenge for many players in the tournament. We have a short time to prepare which is not ideal. Ideally, we should have been there in Iran for a year at least but Carlos knows the team well and the players know him too because he coached them in the last two World Cups."
de Sá is looking forward to working with the Iranian players and getting to know them in the coming weeks. He stated: "When I became a coach, the number one priority was that I am human and so is the player. I think Carlos is the same. I think many coaches forget this. I might coach them for a year or two, but we can be friends until we die. "
Roger announced that he will be with Iran's national team for one or two years because the Football Federation has not confirmed its plans regarding Carlos Queiroz after the end of the World Cup. First, Mehdi Taj, the president of FFIRI announced in his press conference that the Federation's plan is that Queiroz to become the Technical Manager of the national team after the World Cup and that the team will participate in the 2023 Asian Nations Cup under the head coach of Javad Nekonam. While Mehdi Mohammadnabi, the general secretary of the federation, said that Iran will probably be coached in AFC Asian Cup with Queiroz on the bench!
Take your pick on whom to believe.
