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Geopolitics of Football.

The recent news of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s criticism against “Canada Soccer” for arranging a friendly international match against Iran in Vancouver, reflects on how geopolitics is affecting the game as much as how hypocritical and biased the western politicians are becoming.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the geopolitics of the invasion crept into the world of football. FIFA, the world governing body, under pressure from the west addressed the Russian invasion by suspending Russia and its football clubs from all competitions on February 28, including the ultimate one: the 2022 World Cup tournament in Qatar. The Justification was poor and unprecedented. There was no global and agreed UN resolution of any kind. FIFA never suspended the USA for invading Iraq or Afghanistan and committing genocides in the process.

The non-western world was shocked by such influence of politics on football. while FIFA always enforced its policy against the government and political interference in the game, it has historically tried to avoid geopolitics impacting the sport in principle. However, it is now clear that the game is not played on even grounds.

Nevertheless, the biggest shock that exposed the mentality of prejudice was the western Media’s hypocrisy and double standard. Although nothing to do with football, white reporters kept on highlighting the plight of civilized Ukrainian refugees, with white skin and blue eyes, in such acts of duplicity, prejudice, and downright bias that exposed the inherent bias against non-whites and people of other ethnic groups, races and/or religions. Embracing hate against non-whites, was perhaps subdued and carefully vetted but Ukraine made it flagrantly clear that extreme right and white supremacy is on the rise and sometimes flagrant.

It also highlighted that when it comes to their self-interest, the spirits of Olympics, sports, and others are dumped in the bin.

Russia’s suspension by FIFA was significant for two reasons. First, FIFA historically doesn’t punish countries for intrastate conflicts. Secondly, this is the first time that FIFA sided with boycotters. Moreover, the integration of politics with the World Cup goes beyond the Russian invasion, as the choice of Qatar as the host nation invited a significant backlash.

Normally, it is the role of the United Nations (UN) to sanction countries and member states following the resolution agreed upon. FIFA’s speedy suspension of Russia marks the first time since 1950 that FIFA allowed the intrastate conflict to play a role in its disciplinary decision-making without a prior United Nations (UN) resolution preempting it. Since World War II, most intrastate conflicts haven’t resulted in suspensions from FIFA. Two prominent examples stand out. England and Argentina participated in the Spain World Cup in 1982, despite the UK considering withdrawal during the Falkland War occurring earlier that year. Additionally, Iran and Iraq fought a brutal eight-year war during the 1980s, but FIFA suspended neither nation from the 1982 and 1986 World Cups (with Iraq being the aggressor).

Iran, itself has been condemned umpteen times for mixing politics with sport. Its boycott of the state of Israel is well known in every sport. Its Judo federation was finally suspended due to that. It is fortunate that Iran and Israel are far apart when it comes to football with The Jewish state not qualifying for the World Cup since its only appearance in Mexico in 1970. Can you imagine if Iran refused to play a country it does not recognize in a World Cup?

We have to face reality and that this world is controlled by the mighty powerful and the rich. Equality, human rights, peaceful existence, friendship, and understanding are all slogans that the west preaches to us and will use in their quest to dominate and influence the world. Unfortunately, football has fallen victim to this strategy. A character such as Trudeau, who is a known vehement anti-Iran politician with a special bias against the theocracy of the Mullahs, is part of such domination strategy and thus feels obliged to express his objection against a football match!

Fortunately, Canada is a democratic society where one person cannot dictate his whims or rules without the consent of the parliament. That cannot be said of Iran, of course.

And hence, Canada vs Iran match in Vancouver is on and 95% of the tickets have already been sold. Take that!

Canada Soccer under fire for scheduled international friendly vs. Iran

Toronto Sun 17th May 2022

Canada Soccer announced last week they would be hosting Iran at B.C. Place in Vancouver as part of a two-match homestand on June 5

Canada’s choice of opponent for an upcoming men’s international soccer match is drawing criticism from around the country, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

When asked about the match Tuesday, and why his government granted visas to the Iranians, Trudeau, who was in St. John’s, N.L., differed to Canada Soccer.

“This was a choice by Soccer Canada,” Trudeau said. “I think it wasn’t a very good idea to invite the Iranian soccer team here to Canada, but that’s something the organizers are going to have to explain.”

According to the Canadian government, 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents were among 176 people killed when Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down by two Iranian surface-to-air missiles shortly after takeoff from Tehran en route to Kyiv on Jan. 8, 2020.

 

Canada Soccer chief marketing officer Sandra Gage put out a statement in the wake of the prime minister’s comments.

“At Canada Soccer we believe in the power of sport and its ability to bring people from different backgrounds and political beliefs together for a common purpose.

“Iran is one of 32 participating member associations at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and Canada Soccer continues to follow all international protocols in staging this match. We are focused on preparations for our men’s national team to compete on the world stage.”

The exhibition game against Iran will be part of Canada’s preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup taking place in Qatar from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18.

Canada qualified for the men’s World Cup for the first time since its only previous appearance in 1986 in Mexico.

“That’s his opinion,” Vancouver Whitecaps and Canada striker Lucas Cavallini said to the Canadian Press about Trudeau’s comments. “But for us guys, for soccer players, we want soccer to grow here in Canada, and games like these are important for our nation, to bring the people closer to soccer.”

Iran also qualified for the World Cup, out of the Asian Football Confederation. They were drawn in Group B with England, the United States, and a yet to be determined European qualifier; either Wales, Scotland or Ukraine. Iran is 21st in the FIFA world rankings.

Iran will be participating in its third consecutive FIFA World Cup and sixth overall. Iran has never made it out of the first stage of the tournament and have two wins from 15 World Cup matches.

Its most famous victory was against the United States at the 1998 World Cup in France, winning 2-1 at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon. Iran also defeated Morocco 1-0 at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims have asked Canada Soccer to call off the friendly against Iran.

In a statement they said; “It recognizes the athletes’ rights to play diverse opponents and supports the sport and what the World Cup represents. However, it is offensive to the loved ones of Flight PS752 victims given the incredible loss they have endured at the hands of the IRGC (Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps) and their ongoing efforts to seek justice for the victims.”

Details of Alireza Beiranvand's return to Persepolis

Alireza Beiranvand's separation from Persepolis did not last more than two seasons.

Beiranvand, who joined Royal Antwerp FC in the Belgian First Division in the summer of 2020, after going through an unsuccessful period in this team, preferred to transfer to the Portuguese team Boavista on loan to have a better chance of playing and gain a new experience. His main objective, however, was to become the first choice keeper.

The Team Melli keeper who lost his place to Amir Abedzadeh became a bench goalkeeper for Boavista as well and played only 9 games for the team in one season so his dreams of shining in European football would be very short-lived. At the end of this season in Portugal, the Boavista club refused to activate the € 1 million clause in Beiranvand's contract so that the Iranian goalkeeper could return back to his club Antwerp; At the same time, he saw Persepolis Club as a serious destination again.

Beiranvand, whose contract with Antwerp is for another season, announced that he would prefer to go to a team where he could play in the year of the World Cup. As a bench keeper, his selection for Team Melli will be in serious doubt otherwise. In the meantime; What better team than Persepolis, which is both a customer of his and can play in the team to regain his place in Team Melli's starting line-up.

It is believed that the Royal Antwerp FC initially demanded 1 million and later reduced it to 700 thousand Euros as a release fee for the transfer of Beiranvand to the penniless Persepolis club. Shortly afterward, it was announced that Antwerp had agreed to give Beiranvand to Persepolis for less than this amount. Meanwhile, a Belgian media reported that Beiranvand's transfer from Antwerp would not cost Persepolis any money. However, Antwerp will not pay anything to the goalkeeper from the remaining amount of Beiranvand's contract, which is apparently a significant amount.

The news site nieuwsblad reported the news and wrote: "You may have forgotten him before, but Alireza Beiranvand (29) will normally return to Antwerp this summer. The Iranian goalkeeper was hired by Boavista, who did not use the option of buying him for one million euros. However, there is no prospect of the goalkeeper returning to Antwerp. He is about to sign a contract with his former club Persepolis." The website added "Persepolis does not have to pay for Beiranvand's transfer, but the fact that his high wages (and the significant amount of his contract signing) will be lost is positive for Antwerp," the report said.

Iran Futsal team to play Argentina in friendlies

The Iranian national futsal team will play two friendly matches against the Argentine national futsal team on July 6th and 8th in Argentina. The Iranian national futsal team, in preparation for the Asian Cup 2022 and defense of its title, has decided upon these two friendly matches, thus, Vahid Shamsaei's players will encounter the best preparation possible by playing against a top team in the shape of Argentina.   Previously, the national futsal team was scheduled to play against Argentina and Paraguay in a tripartite tournament in July, but with the discretion of the coaching staff of the national futsal team, the match against Paraguay was canceled and instead, it was decided that the two futsal teams of Iran and Argentina would play two friendly matches.  Also, the coaching staff of the national futsal team, headed by Vahid Shamsaei, is looking to hold a friendly match with the national team of Spain or Portugal, both matches are under negotiation. After the last Futsal World Cup in Lituinaia, The Iranian national futsal team is going through a major transformation in which it saw the change of the Coaching staff with the legendary  Vahid Shamsaei appointed as head coach on 18th May 2022. A horde of new players were picked by the newly formed team while the seniors have either quit or sidelined.

The Marco Polo of Iranian Football.

The 25-year-old Team Melli holding midfielder left the ninth club team of his football career. Saeed Ezatollahi, the Al Gharafa midfielder, is gradually setting an interesting record in terms of changing teams. This Iranian player, a product of Malavan Bandar Anzali Academy, has played in 9 teams so far and is now looking to join his tenth club team.

Saeed Ezatollahi has quite often played for several clubs as a loan player, and if this trend continues, he may be able to set a world record by the end of his football career. Ezatollahi started his football career with the Bandar Anzali Malavan and was able to be quickly recognized as a phenomenon in Iranian football at an early age. He soon joined the Atletico Madrid C team but never managed to attract the attention of the senior team. Rostov, Anzhi Makhachkala, Amkar, Reading, Eupen, Vejle Boldklub, and Al Gharafa Qatar then. s in which the 25-year-old Iranian midfielder has played so far.

He is likely to be one of the players selected for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and could experience his second World Cup appearance at the age of 26 and reach the peak of his maturity. The Iranian midfielder has not yet been able to establish himself in European football even in the lower-tier leagues. Being in the top teams in this continent has not helped Ezzatollahi much, and this talented player still has many years ahead of him but he mostly failed to choose the right team while his chronic injuries and inconsistency due to absence from the team have marred his career.

While being one of the best in Asia at younger age levels, he has managed to score only one goal in 44 national games for Team Melli. Many of the club teams he has selected are indicative of p[oor advice and career management. The Marco Polo of Iranian football performances has suffered frequently due to this unstable career.

It remains to be seen what Ezzatullahi will decide and where the winds will take him next.

In the Iranian football system and hierarchy, there is no specialist department for younger players with the potential to seek learned and professional advice to steer the players in the right direction in their professional careers. All such decisions are left to agents and brokers whose only interest is financial returns. The chaotic Football Federation has suffered chronic mismanagement and corruption making it unsuitable to be a platform for the development of younger players with potential. Other sports organizations in Iran are on par with FFIRI and are useless for guidance and career development.

Youth career
2008–2010 Shahrdari Bandar Anzali
2010–2014 Malavan
2014–2015 Atlético Madrid
Senior career
Years Team Matches Goals
2012–2014 Malavan 19 0
2014–2015 Atlético Madrid C 5 0
2015–2020 Rostov 18 -2
2017 → Anzhi Makhachkala (loan) 11 0
2017–2018 → Amkar Perm (loan) 16 -1
2018–2019 → Reading (loan) 4 0
2019–2020 → Eupen (loan) 4 0
2020– Vejle 42 -5
2022– → Al-Gharafa (loan) 4 0

China withdrawal from hosting Asian Cup 2023 may see it back in the west Asian region.

China’s withdrawal from hosting the 2023 Asian Cup could see the showpiece shift west to the Gulf, where new infrastructure and voracious demand for major events have made the region a magnet for international tournaments.

Having planned to hold the Asian Cup across 10 cities in June-July next year, China dropped the 24-team tournament due to “exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic", the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said over the weekend.

The AFC said it would name a new host in due course but provided no detail and declined to provide immediate comment to Reuters.

AFC member nations were in the dark on Monday about the next steps.

“This is quite an unusual situation and so there’s no specific process that we are aware of on how things could go," a spokesperson for the Korean Football Association (KFA) told Reuters.

“We just know that China has given up."

The AFC has little time to appraise candidates and may not have a diverse set to choose from.

Governing body Football Australia declined to comment on whether it would put up its hand to replace China but referred to its busy calendar in 2023 as co-hosts of the Women’s World Cup with New Zealand, which starts on July 20.

All India Football Federation general secretary Kushal Das said India, which held the 2022 women’s Asian Cup this year, was focusing on its bid for the 2027 men’s tournament and had not expressed interest in stepping in for 2023.

South Korea, which originally lost out on its 2023 bid to China, had no comment on hosting but said it would require further consultation with home authorities.

“Basically, to host an international game …. firstly there should be talks with the government and the local authorities, but we haven’t heard or held any discussions on that yet," the KFA spokesperson said.

Apart from India, reigning Asian Cup champions Qatar, Iran, and Saudi Arabia have all expressed an interest or submitted bids for 2027.

Qatar hosts the 2022 World Cup from Nov. 21 at a raft of purpose-built stadiums and may be best placed to slot in for the Asian Cup.

The 1988 and 2011 Asian Cup hosts, Qatar’s ambitions of becoming a global sporting hub have been backed by its ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and underpinned by its gas wealth.

It may come too soon for Saudi Arabia, which has made an aggressive entry into the international sports hosting market in recent years. The Saudi bid for 2027 included the building of three new stadiums and the expansion of three existing venues.

The region’s searing summers would mean both Qatar and Saudi Arabia would need to ask the AFC to move the tournament to cooler months later in the year or in early-2024.

Should few clear alternatives emerge, the AFC would likely prove accommodating to such a request, sending the tournament back to the Gulf four years after the 2019 edition in the United Arab Emirates.

Dragan Skocic's fears and hopes

The Croatian coach's survival and leading Team Melli in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is quite certain, but Skočić still has concerns.

Hamshahri newspaper, in an article about the current status of Team Melli, wrote: "The finalization of the friendly match against Canada on the morning of June 6th is a very good event; It is both technically useful for the national team and shows that the uncertainty of the football federation has not affected Team Melli after all. This game should be considered auspicious. Surely Dragan Skucic is happy too. The Croatian head coach of the national team felt the danger of being fired after the defeat against South Korea in the Nowruz ceremonial game, but now it seems that his position is steadfast and solid.

Even for some time after the World Cup draw, some saboteurs pushed the idea of a much higher profile world-class coach will is needed for Team Melli in Qatar instead of Skocic, but if there was a will to do so, it would seem futile and nothing more than feeble lobbying that found very little attention and consideration. . There are only six months left until the start of the World Cup, and the friendly matches of Team Melli are being fixed with Skocic. Therefore, the Croatian is relieved that he will lead the Iranian national team in Qatar and is focused on hard work.

However, that is not to say that Skočić is worry-Free at this stage, for the challenge is huge and far from simple. Is Canada enough? Many claimed that for various reasons, the game against Canada is a good and precious opportunity for the Iranian national team; Both their football is similar to USA's and they are a good and strong team. Anyway, Canada managed to win four points from the United States in two games, and our game and theirs will surely benefit us. However,  just this one game to prepare for the biggest football show on the planet is not enough for Team Melli.

It is said that the rest of the package of friendly matches is supposed to be completed with the games against the likes of New Zealand and Albania, but these matches are not very useful. In fact, there is a concern that the federation will feel satisfied after arranging the game with Canada and will not leave much to be desired for the rest of the friendly matches. It is a pity if that is the case. Do not forget that we are playing against England, the most expensive national football team in the world at the moment. Wales or Scotland may be added to the Iran group and we need to play with a team that has such characteristics.

Which posts are missing?

Dragan Skocic, however, should also have concerns about some of the national team posts. For example, the right-back position is a very serious challenge. Skocic's favorite choice for the post is Sadegh Moharrami who does not seem to be the fan's favorite. Moharrami has long been lost in the club category. He has had a great performance at Dinamo Zagreb and even recently Branko Ivankovic criticized the club's technical staff for benching the Iranian. The quality of Moharrami's in Team Melli has been inconsistent. On the other hand, Ramin Rezaian returned to the Iranian league to show himself to Dragan Skoucic, but he was not very successful and failed to convince Team Meli selectors to include him in the squad. Rezaeian also has discipline issues. For Voria Ghafouri, his best years are behind him at this stage and almost done at the international level while Saleh Hardani lacks the experience that is required to help the Team in the World Cup.

If you have followed the Asian Champions League, you must have noticed the decline of Daniel Ismaili at that post.

Other positions of concern are defensive midfielders. Ahmed Noorullahi has not had an outstanding performance in the weaker team of Al-Ahly in the UAE League, while Saeed Ezzatullahi in the weaker team of Al-Gharafah in Qatar has only become in huge big margin defeats. Even recently, Milad Sarlak's performance in Persepolis has had many critics. In general, Skocic should also be concerned about the decline of the Legionnaires. Alireza Biranvand, Ali Gholizadeh, Karim Ansarifard Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Ehsan Hajosafi, and some others have played very little these months.

Maybe the problem of some of these players will be solved by choosing a better team in the World Cup year. "In that case, we hope they will make an open-minded choice." The reality is that Iranian Players do not easily integrate well n the western teams, the best problem being the language and work ethics. In the Iranian Domestic league, the way the players are developed and the relaxed and indisciplined attitude of the clubs, do not augur well for players to become legionnaires. Only a few percent of Iranians make it while most struggle and eventually return home.

Former FFIRI President Azizi Khadem banned for two years.

The ethics committee announced its verdict in the case of the ousted president and some officials of the then Football Federation.

According to ISNA and quoting the Football Federation, the final verdict was made after careful deliberations on the Executive Committee of the FFIRI and based on the finding of the Investigation Team and the report by the special audit committee.  The Executive Committee has declared that several members of the Football Administration, headed by the President Azizi Khadem have committed violations of the rules, amounting to illegal transfer of money, payment for services not rendered, authorizing payment for Persepolis Club without the knowledge and approval of the Executive Committee of the federation as required by the bylaws plus several other misdemeanors committed during the short tenure of Azizi Khadem in the FFIRI

The Committee, also referring to the Code of Ethics of the FIFA announced that Ali Soleimani Sarmi  (treasurer), Hassan Kamranifar (secretary-general), Vahid Fadaei (head of  finance), and Mohammad Babazadeh Darvish (former head of the legal affairs) have been found guilty of violating the ethical rules of football and according to the lawsuit dated May 15,

Shahabuddin Azizi Khadem has been sentenced to a total ban from all football and futsal activities for a period of 2 years and also to pay a fine of one hundred Million Toman

It also found  Ali Soleimani Sarmi to be guilty as charged and banned from all football and futsal activities for a period of 1 year and fined  30 million Toman

Hassan Kamranifar to pay a 40 million Toman fine while Vahid Fadai to pay 30 million Tomsn and  Mohammad Babazadeh to pay a fine of 30 million Toman.

Although the accusations against Azizi Khadem amounted to criminal negligence and misappropriation of funds which is punishable by Iranian laws, the FFIRI did not indicate if the case will be referred to the courts of law in Iran. The government, however, has the full right to investigate the case and has a track record in prosecuting corruption and funds misappropriation cases with severity in a country that is infested with financial corruption all across.

Canada vs Iran match tickets are sold out.

After the official announcement by the Canadian football federation of the match between Canada and Iran, all the tickets for the friendly international have been sold out.

The match is set to be staged at Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium on June 5. The stadium can host 54,500 spectators.

The reports of a friendly encounter between Iran and Canada had surfaced days ago and were later officially confirmed by the two countries’ federations.

According to reports, the Canadian federation has been surprised by the warm welcome of both Canadian and Iranian fans for the match.

Some 27,000 tickets were sold in the first hour, reports suggest.

Thousands of Iranian immigrants live in different Canadian cities. According to Canada's 2016 census data, there were more than 210,000 Iranians living in the country and the number is estimated to be higher these days.

The match is the first friendly game for Iran ahead of the 2022 World Cup and the last friendly match for Canada at home.

Canada to host Iran for a friendly international in Vancouver.

FFIRI has reached an agreement with the Canadian Football Federation, to hold a friendly international match as part of Team Melli's preparations for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2020. The match between Iran and Canada will be held in Vancouver, B.C. on June 5th.

The match is part of a two-game homestand at B.C. Place Stadium. The Canadian men will open CONCACAF Nations League A play there against Curacao on June 9 before closing out the FIFA international window with another CONCACAF Nations League game against Honduras in San Pedro Sula on June 13.

Canada ranked 38th in the world, and No. 21 Iran are both preparing for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar this November.

Canada will play in Group F alongside Belgium, Croatia, and Morocco while Iran is in Group B with England, the U.S., and a European playoff winner still to be decided.

The Vancouver matches are the first for Canada on home soil since qualifying for the World Cup in a 4-0 win over Jamaica at Toronto's BMO Field on March 27. It also marks the Canadian men's first visit to B.C. Place since March 2019 when they beat French Guiana 4-1 in CONCACAF Nations League qualifying.

Canada has a 1-2-0 all-time record against Iran, winning the most recent encounter 1-0 in April 2001 in Cairo. Iran posted 1-0 wins in 1997 and 1999 games in Toronto and Edmonton, respectively.

FFIRI is actively seeking another opponent in Canada with several associations being approached in order to play  Team Melli on FIFA Day. No agreement has been reached so far for the second match.