In a controversial revelation by Ali Daei, the recently sacked Persepolis coach has said that the main reason behind his sacking as Team Melli coach was the then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The outspoken Daei said the reason for his sacking is his refusal to join Ahmadinejad re-election campaign and show his public support to the hardline President.

 Daei was sacked after one defeat against Saudi Arabia in the World Cup 2010 qualifiers, his only defeat as a coach of Team Melli. Iran was going through the Presidential Election with the opposition leaders Mousavi and Karoubi gaining grounds on the incumbent President Ahmadinejad who was losing much public support as a result of poor economy.

Daei’s claim came in last night’s edition of the popular Navad program in which Ferdowsipour was discussing Persepolis recent developments, coaching and managerial changes.

As customary in such situation, it was quite difficult to believe who is telling g the truth, but what was abundantly clear in the chronic mismanagement, government interference, nepotism, political influences and back stabbing behind the scenes that is distressing football in Iran. Persepolis, like Esteghlal , is owned and financed by the government through the Ministry of Youth and Sport in Iran. Despite the continual denials that the Ministry interferes in the day-to-day running of the clubs, facts and behind the scene events tells otherwise.  

Another interesting aspect of the program was the number of Persepolis fans who were upset by the recent developments in the club. Despite poor results by Daei , he still has much support base amongst the fans as the polls indicated. Daei, admitting some of his shortfall ( and that is in itself quite unique) but attributed the team’s poor performance to the attempts by the hierarchy in the club and the Ministry of Sport to dislodge him from his post as early as the season start! In brief , Daei was saying that they were plotting against him and making his life difficult.

Daei in his defense, said “We lost quality players like Khalatbary , Jalal Hosseini , Mosalman and others because the management failed to agree terms with them and pay what they are worth. On top of that, quite a large number of players were not fully paid from the previous season’s contract. How would you expect the players to perform on the field?” Rahimi, the sacked CEO of Persepolis supported Daei’s claims and confirmed that the Hierarchy wanted Daei out even before the season started!

Daei has accused the present Minister of Sport , Goudarzi of sacking him and has established that he has the honor of being sacked by the President of the Country once and the Minister of Sport the next time.

Clearly , much like its neighboring countries , political interference in football is widespread and prevalent in Iran. Political events and spheres of influence seem to spreads to where popularity lies. The exception in Iran is the relatively more press freedom and transparency which allows such exposures to reach the public.