Tag: Amir Ghalenoei

Awaiting Team Melli’s squad list.

With just a few days to the new year and a fortnight to go for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qatar, Team Melli is experiencing an eerie silence. The players are carrying out their club duties with mixed fortune in Iran and abroad, while the coaching staff is busy analyzing the performance of the same players over and over again, in a vain attempt to find something encouraging.

Although Ghalenoei claimed that Team Melli is open to all suitable Iranian players, the truth remains that he is not looking anywhere beyond the 30-odd players that he inherited from Carlos Queiroz despite being short of a year now in charge of Team Melli.

A certain unreliable, Mohammad Nabi has claimed that Team Melli will have a couple or more preparatory friendly matches before the team departs to Doha, including a friendly with Japan and Indonesia, but apart from his claim we could not see anything to substantiate that.

There has been no statement or progress report from the Team Melli camp about the immediate plan with two weeks left. The domestic league is being played as normal and the competition is heating up, which is a good omen for Team Melli members playing in Iran.

In Europe,  the progress of the Iranians is mixed. Taremi is back on the scoring trail, Azmun is still a bench player coming in the latter stages of matches with AS Roma and managing to score a solitary goal so far, and Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s days with Feyenoord is coming to an end as the club is not willing to renew his contract and is still a benchwarmer in the Eredivisie. Saman Ghoddos has found himself in a new role at Brentford and he is not doing a bad job either. He is proving to be a versatile footballer now that he has played in all three outfield posts in competitions.

Ali Gholizadeh is not doing too great in the Polish league with Lech Poznan playing a total of 4 matches since the start of the league and now he has been relegated to the second ties team of the Polish league. Saeid Ezatolahi is in Denmark, and his form has been fluctuating and that is evident in his club Vejle BK sitting at the bottom of the league and facing relegation.

The two players in Turkey, Ali Karimi, and Majid Hosseini are in a much better situation as both seem to be regular starters and their team is ranked 4th in the Turkish Super League.

One significant player who will probably miss selection for the Team Melli squad for the Asian Cup is Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, a player who was beaming with confidence and was a star in the Ukraine league, but his transfer to England with Hull has been going from bad to worse. Similar to Sayyadmanesh, it seems that Mehdi Ghaeydi another young Iranian player with so much promise, is not going to make it either despite showing a reasonable standard in the UAE league.

The squad name should be published soon, but no one should be under any illusion that new names will added to the 30-year-old players that have played together and dominated Team Melli since FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia.

Uzbekistan Tashkent

A Tale of Two Halves: Uzbekistan vs Iran, FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers

  • The beautiful and unsightly face of Team Melli displayed in the match
  • An opportunity missed by Team Melli due to discipline failure
  • Srečko Katanec proves his quality in Tashkent

Team Melli drew a match in which they were 2 goals ahead against Uzbekistan in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier in Tashkent Melliy Stadim. The match ended 2-2 draw, Ramin Rezaeian scoring the first in the 14th minute, while Taremi scored the second in the 37th in a game that was a tale of two contrasting halves.

The first half was dominated by Iran, showcasing a level of football that Team Melli hadn’t displayed in a long time. The team’s intricate passing, solid defending, and tactical discipline were commendable. The midfield was masterfully controlled by the dynamo, Saman Ghoddos, who also provided the assist for Mehdi Taremi’s second goal. The overall free-flowing football was a delight to watch.

Two well-played goals, first by Rezaeian who received a master pass from Sardar Azmoun, and then followed by Taremi doubling the lead in the 37th minute. this time by a perfectly weighted ball from Saman Ghoddis who had lots of credit as he robbed the ball before sending it to Taremi who finished masterfully.

However, the second half painted a completely different picture. It was dominated by Uzbekistan, capitalizing on the disciplinary collapse of Team Melli. The turning point was arguably the injury to the schemer, Saman Ghoddos. His replacement, Ali Karimi, failed to replicate Ghoddos’ impact on the game. The tactical discipline, especially at the back, was missing from Iran’s gameplay, and the two goals conceded were due to defensive coverage failure. The slowness of the defense was quite evident in this half.

Uzbek coach Katenec read the hand of Iran’s Ghalenoei masterfully in the second half. Implementing a pressing tactic and empowering his team with pacy and more effective players, Uzbekistan managed to score twice to settle the game. The match served as a reminder of the unpredictability of football, where fortunes can change in the blink of an eye.

One unfortunate side of Team Melli that we have been used to for years is the discipline. Mehdi Taremi and Ramin Rezaeian were masters in simulation and fake falls to a laughable degree. In particular that dive by Taremi in the box in the first half. The referee opted not to award him a yellow card despite the fact that it was a bookable offense. Another comical fall by Rezaeian on the second was even more laughable! Ghalenoei has yet to enforce his gentlemanly type of football. This is the ugly face of Team Melli that no one wants to see. This team is good enough in many aspects without the need for cheating.

Iran leads the table with four points ahead of Uzbekistan on goal difference.

Noorollahi kicked out of Team Melli camp

Team Melli and Al Wehda midfield player, Ahmad Noorollahi, was ejected from the national team camp a few minutes ago according to an official announcement from the Football Federation.

The media department of the national team announced that Ahmed Nooralahi had been expelled from the camp. On follow-up, it appears that the reason for Noorollahi’s expulsion from the camp that has played Hong Kong and will meet Uzbekistan next was of a disciplinary nature.

Ghalenoei, called 30 players for this camp, but FIFA and competition regulations will allow only 23 players to be registered for the match. When Noorollahi realized that he was not on the list of the final 23, he refused to join the rest of the excluded players and left the group without the approval of team management. This resulted in his expulsion from the camp as the midfielder will not make the trip to Tashkent for the Uzbekistan game.

This is not the first time that a Team Melli player has been recently disciplined for misdemeanor and unprofessional conduct. A player like Noorollahi who plays professionally in a foreign league quite simply ignores the most basic of the rules and that is respect for decisions made by the hierarchy.

It is difficult to see Noorollahi, being part of Iran’s squad for the AFC Asian Cup early next year, unless that usual Iranian tradition where the guilty person shows remorse, visits the head coach with a flower bouquet and kisses cheek to cheek, and then all is forgotten!

Winning start for Team Melli in World Cup qualifiers.

Team Melli defeated Hong Kong 4-0 in Azadi on Thursday evening in the first match of FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers. Sardar Amoun scored two goals while Mehdi Taremi and Ramin Rezaeian scored the other two.

Despite the good margin of victory against a lowly Hong Kong ranked 150th in the world, Team Melli was far from convincing and at times even embarrassing. The two late goals in the second half added some respectability to the result but that should not hide the fact that Ghalenoei has a lot of work to do to build a respectable team for the World Cup in 3 years’ time. Although Iran is one of the favorite for the AFC Asian Cup, such performance with an aging team puts a lot of question marks on this claim.

Iran started positively and through a good assist by Mohebbi courtesy of Capt. Hajsafi’s perseverance, Azmoun cooly slotted the ball into the net in the 12th minute. Two minutes later, Azmoun struck again from a similar situation from a Mehdi Taremi pass into the box. After that, thinking that the Hong Kong floodgate has opened the players started show acting to entertain the small crowd in Azadi. This showtime act, was at times quite embarrassing to watch. Mohebbi and Taremi both went for the same ball on the 6-yard line, both going for overhead kick, resulting in Taremi’s boot whacking Mohebbi;s head with the ball nowhere to be seen.

Wrong passes, uncoordinated moves, lethargy and taking it easy marred the rest of the half for Iran. Hong Kong on the other hand managed to close the path of Team Melli player with numbers and pressing tactics.

In the second half , it was Hong Kong who were determined to score and nearly managed that. Iran’s defense held tight and managed to survive until two late goals sealed the match for the home team.

This is the 9th victory for Amir Ghalenoei, a record that would be the envy of any coach in the world. It is also Ghalenoei’s first win in an official match, however, this team and Ghalenoi himself is far from convincing. His stubbornness in using older players like Omid Ebrahimi (37 years) and Karim Ansarifard (34 years) , is a serious setback for Iran’s football and Team Melli and such pig-headed attitude will come back and haunt him.

Despite what he said yesterday in his pre-match press conference about learning from mistakes, it is doubtful that he seriously means it. This current team may beat the likes of Angola, Hong Kong, Jordan all teams ranked below Team Melli, but the real test will come soon, in fact in 5 days from now when Iran faces the much-improved Uzbekistan in Tashkent.

Man of the Match: Sardar Azmoun.

Why is the insistence on an aging Team Melli ?

When Iran won the Asian Cup 1n 1968, it had a young inexperienced team but with youthful energy and a great fighting spirit in addition to skills required to win the top title in Asia. It was indeed a milestone and a great achievement for such a young team. If you look at the team in 1968, there was only one player who was over 30 years of age, and that was the goalkeeper, Aziz Asli. The average age of the team was 24 years that included stars like Parviz Ghleechkhani (21), Ali Jabbari (20), Gholamhossein Farzami (22) , Homayoun Behzadi (21). The irony is that the two most senior outfield players, Hasan Habibi (29) and Mostafa Arab (26) were not even 30 !

Not only the won their first Asian Cup with an average age of 24, but their international experience was also quite modest too with an average appearance (caps) of 14 matches only.

Today, Team Melli consists of majority of players who are over 30 years, and a coach who does not consider the national team as a place for young Iranian talents. A coach who prefers older, experienced and trusted players to do the job, that they have failed on many occasions several time over.

In fact, Ghalenoei’s team is not radically different from the team that lost 3-0 to Japan in the semi-final of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 under Queiroz. Four years have passed in which Iranian football has failed to produce quality player to replace the older ones. Or is that a fact? No one is talking about a radical overhaul of the team, but a gradual calculated introduction of young players into the senior ranks like other national teams should be the strategy.

There are several problems preventing the implementation of career progression for the massive amount of talented young footballers in Iran.

Since the revolution, Iran has suffered an acute shortage of skilled managers and a major decline in management skills and standards. In addition, complete mentality changes in style and objectives, whereby football and the rest of sports in Iran, are there to serve the purposes and principals of the regimes rather that sporting principles and pride of the nation.

 Managers, coaches, clubs and federation administrators are carefully vetted before taking up their job in this totally government-controlled environment of Iranian sports. Rest assured that Amir Ghalenoei has been filtered and approved by the hierarchy. But how is this related to the youth in Team Melli ?

After the civil unrest following Mahsa Amini’s death while in the custody of the notorious virtue patrols, an arm of Iranian government security apparatus, the main drivers of this civil uprising were the youth. They led the rebellion, openly expressed their anger and defied the archaic authoritarian system which resulted in some of them being executed and thousands other incarcerated. The youth of Iran have this natural rebellion feeling and want to revolt against what they see as injustice, lack of personal freedom and are tired of being imposed upon in every walk of life.  Whenever they can, they display signs of dissent whether in their attire, looks, tattoos or social media expression.

The regime is wary of the youth and their potential for troublemaking. Naturally, Team Melli selectors and especially a pious and conformist coach such as Ghalenoei, will follow the party line by being less inclined to pick younger players. It is certainly not for the lack of quality of younger players.

Team Melli 2022 Team Melli 1968

NamePostAgeCapsNamePostAgeCaps
Alireza BEIRANVANDGoalkeeper3053Aziz ASLIGoalkeeper3123
Majid HOSSEINDefender2619Hasan HABIBIDefender2920
Milad MOHAMMADIDefender2946Jaffar KASHANIDefender233
Morteza POURALIGANJIDefender3047Mehrab SHAHROUKHIDefender2413
Rouzbeh CHESHMIDefender2920Mostafa ARABDefender2627
Sadegh MOHARRAMIDefender2621Ali JABBARIMidfielder2012
Ahmad NOUROLLAHIMidfielder2926Gholamhossein FARZAMIMidfielder227
Ehsan HAJSAFIMidfielder32120Parviz GHLEECHKHANIMidfielder2116
Ali KARIMIMidfielder2814Akbar EFTEKHARIForward2410
AliReza JAHANBAKHSHForward2965Homayoun BEHZADIForward2123
Mehdi TAREMIForward3061Hossein KALANIForward234
Average28.944.72414

Ghalenoei does not believe Team Melli is old!!

“I don’t believe that the national team is old”, the head coach of Team Melli has said.

“We will probably invite four or five young players for the upcoming camp. We have to build support, the same way we did in 2006 when we formed the “B” national team. We don’t have time right now, but luckily the players are in form and have been playing in competitive conditions. They should be with the national team little by little, and in case of changes, it should be done the right time. Many people say that the national team is old, but I don’t believe so. There is no place for youth in the national team“, he said:

“Ehsan Haj Safi played 90 minutes against Marseille. The coaching staff of his team checked the physical condition of this player and gave him the go ahead for the full 90 minutes. Therefore, we should use these players as much as we can. Such players are ethically and technically approved by us and put in a lot of effort. Rejuvenation does not take place in the national team; this should be carried out at club levels. Sepahan does this, I have to thank their technical staff. We will announce the national team list on Sunday and maybe two lists will be announced.”

Such statements is quite a disappointment for the fans while some might deem it shocking. But from track record, especially when Ghalenoei took Team Melli to the Asian Cup in 2007, he always seemed to be apprehensive in giving playing time to the younger players in his teams. The case of one Javad Kazemian is a testament to Ghalenoei’s reluctance and even phobia of younger players playing in the team at major competitions.

Despite living in denial about Team Melli being old, he will always rely on such an aging team for glory in the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2023 ignoring the fact that lack of pace, particularly at the back, might come to haunt him in Qatar.

So, young talented Iranians such as Amin Hezbavi, Yasin Salmani, Javad Hosseinnejad, Saman Touranian, Arya Barzegar, Saman Fallah, Mohammadreza Bordbar and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh have to wait for a few years under Ghalenoei for their turn in Team Melli. The current head coach is still thinking of players such as Karim Ansarifard (33 years) and Vahid Amiri (35 years) to join the squad!!

Ghgalenoei hits out at his critics.

“Enough is enough” bemoaned Team Melli’s head coach, following widespread criticism of Team Melli’s performance under his command.

” We played 5 games, 4 of which were away from home. We won two finals and conceded only one goal, but look how much we were battered. These attacks are reminiscent of 2006. Manchester City, which has not achieved good results in the last 2-3 weeks after winning the English and UEFA Champions League, has not been attacked as much as we have been!” Ghalenoei said of the recent criticisms of his playing tactics, player selections, poor defensive and midfield composition, and finally his high age average team., all of which he labeled as attacks!

In defense of his record, the head coach of Team Melli said ” If you look at the statistics of the games we played against Jordan, they have managed to defeat us in Tehran and we defeated them in their own country, we beat them at home with a of 2 goals difference. Are these criticisms justified? We have a problem and we accept it, no team or player in the world can play 30 games consistently at the same level, and things happen anyway. In that game, the grass was of poor quality and damaged and one or two players made individual mistakes. In the finals, we also beat Uzbekistan and Qatar, which are great teams, and you will definitely see them in the AFC Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers.”

Ghaleneoi, who has never been too comfortable with criticism and has demanded that for the sake of Team Melli the media and the fans should refrain from mentioning the negatives and instead pray and support the team, continued ” They say that Team Melli is old, but do they produce players at the senior levels? it is the duty of other youth teams to produce the players(…) “

Ghalenoei also lamented the fact that in Iran, greed and jealousy are rampant.

“since 2006, you judged me and did whatever you wanted against me. I was on constant trial. in these 80 days for the sake of the people, support the national team. The way to success is interaction. The difference between other countries and us is that they care about their country and we have love and hate relationship. The pens that were used against me in 2006 were a kind of cruelty. Now they say the same things in a different way” Ghalenoei whined in reference to similar criticism before his departure to Malaysia for the AFC Asian Cup 2007.

It is clear that Ghalenoei is back to his sulking best. He never offered a sensible reason for insisting on selecting the same squad that has failed to achieve any meaningful victory for the best part of a decade now. He had no excuse to have a player like Ansarifard, while Ghaedi, Sayyadmanesh, and many other younger and promising forwards were available. Although he mentioned Japan as an exemplary footballing nation with a long-term plan to produce an abundance of young players, he has yet to explain his clear ignoring of plenty of Omid Team players who deserve trials in Team Melli.

The fear of failure has already put Ghalenoei on the defensive. Ghalenoei like many other Iranian coaches , has yet to learn how to deal with criticism, normally attacking the critics while offering no solid defense for his actions.

Two young defenders are to be added to Team Melli’s squad.

After lots of criticism of Amir Ghalenoei for his aging squad, the injury to Morteza Pouralgangi, and his subsequent operation which will put him out of action for six months, forced Ghalenoei to pick a replacement for the defender. The Team Melli head coach finally remembered that the team requires f much-needed youth energy to this geriatric team.

Amin Hezbavi, the Omid and the Qatari Al Sadd defender is now included in the squad. The 20-year-old Khuzestani player (born in Ahvaz) joined Al Sadd club in 2023 and has featured in this team as a fixed player despite his young age. Hizbavi has already scored a stunning header for his club in the Qatar Star League. Hizbavi has played for the Omid team and was one of the stars.

The Other addition is Gol Gohar and Omid Team defender, Saman Fallah. Despite the failure of the team under Reza Enayati, Fallah displayed some impressive football work on the flanks as a winger. The 22-year-old player from Sari is playing his football in Peykan but it is only a matter of time before one of the three big clubs in Iran will lure him, or if he gets the proper advice and opportunity, will head towards professional football in the Persian Gulf states or Europe.

Pouraliganji, who was looking for the third appearance in the AFC Asian Cup with Team Melli, will now be a TV spectator watching Iran matches in Qatar.

The selection of Pouraliganji’s successor in Team Melli has become a subject of many discussions in the last few days. Majid Hosseini, the Kayserispor of Turkey, is mentioned as a candidate. However, Amir Ghalenoei opted to invite Amin Hizbavi and Saman Fallah instead. That is quite a move from the head coach of Team Melli, who disappointed many fans and critics with his last selection for the Jordan 4 side tournament. His selection of Karim Ansarifard was a particularly disappointing and a step backward move for a team that is in dire need of rebuilding and decreasing the average age.

Team Melli will play two matches in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers against Hong Kong and Uzbekistan this year and then head to Doha for the AFC Asian Cup 2023.

Confidence crises with Iranian coaches.

Amir Ghalenoei has produced his list for Jordan’s four-nations tournament. Not only this list was quite disappointing for those fans and pundits who liked to see new young faces in an aging Team Melli, but it also included a veteran in Karim Ansarifard who has not been in the picture and has hardly shown the public in Iran any proof of his worth in the Cypriot league. Ansarifard is not even a regular starter for Omonia Nicosia

Since his appointment. Amir Ghalenoei has been facing regular criticism, mainly because he is a local coach. There has been a crisis of confidence in Iranian coaches for a long time, particularly in these few months. The reason is that the fans of different sports have witnessed a decline in performance whenever a local Iranian coach is appointed to coach a team. The worst case was Volleyball, followed to a lesser extent, Basketball, and Futsal. All three sports lost their continental titles under local coaches.

It is a fact that the fans do not trust Iranian coaches. It is a fact that was highlighted in an ISNA poll with the majority losing voting against domestic coaches. It is a deep-rooted problem and has been hidden under the carpet, at least in official media. It seems that talking about it is taboo and the reason is, like everything in Iran, it is the policy of the regime, and one cannot disagree with it. Not in public at least.

SUPREME LEADER SERMON

However, volleyball, which was fast becoming the number one team sport in Iran threatening the domination of football, suddenly hit a spiral dive after Ataei was appointed. His promotion to Volleyball Team Melli and rise in value was right after a ceremonial meeting with the supreme leader in which Ayatollah Khamenei explicitly declared that domestic coaches have much better value for the Iranian teams than foreign nationals.

Sport authorities took that as a Fatwa that needs to be strictly adhered to not just a pip talk from the supreme leader. It has quickly become a perceived policy of maintaining the values of the Islamic revolution through the appointment of Iranian coaches.

Although Ayatollah Khamenei did say that he is no expert in sports and did not interfere in the appointment of coaches in that meeting with the Iranian national volleyball team, who dares to disagree and work independently selecting coaches based on merits, international standards of competence, experience, and ability rather on patriotism or politics?

Right after the free fall of volleyball, pundits mentioned that Behrouz Ataei, the Iranian head coach of the national team, showed that “we have not yet reached a level with domestic coaches where we can compete closely with the world’s volleyball powers, and we need the presence of a skilled foreign head coach so that the domestic coaches can learn and experience major world events alongside him and improve their own technical abilities. Maybe this issue is not pleasant for some, but it is a fact that many veterans and fans of volleyball acknowledge.”

In football, Ghalenoei, or any Iranian head coach is bound by many limitations.  In a bi-polar football culture, his first felony is that he is a Blue so he will have an apparent bias towards Esteghlal players. This has been observed many times over with Iranian coaches, although Daei was an exception during his tenure.

DEMANDS AND PRESSURE TO SUCCEED

Iranian coaches have a fear of defeat and setbacks and that is not entirely their own fault. They are facing masses of supporters and press that demand immediate results. A nation hungry for success that eluded it since the revolution over 40 years ago. There is no time for experimenting and being a maverick. Ghalenoei is no exception. Fear of failure pushes him to rely on the most battle-hardened warriors, counting on the experience of senior players to achieve success.  He has just taken over an aging team, the oldest in the last World Cup 2022, in fact, to increase the average age by adding yet another over-33-year-old player!

It is true that the U23 team, which is supposed to be the backbone of senior Team Melli, has been poorly performing for many years, but under a sub-standard unqualified coach in Reza Enayati, the real potential of the team was never going to materialize. Nonetheless, there were a few good players in that team that deserve a trial and call-up. Only one made Ghalenoei’s list.

POLITICS

There will always be political pressure on the national team. The regime’s interest supersedes any other objectives. Players not showing total loyalty to the regime, will have to be excluded and any sign of political dissent must be swiftly dealt with. Under a foreign coach filtering players based on politics is that much more difficult especially if you have a strong character coach.

DISCIPLINE

One of the biggest shortfalls of Iranian coaches will always be DISCIPLINE. Time and again, the local coaches have failed miserably in self-discipline and that of their own players’. Never mind what they preach in public, the Iranian coaches in general feel obliged to be protective of the players even when committing the silliest or most damaging of acts.

The regional teams realize that Iranian footballers play with strong emotion, and the opposition takes advantage of that even provoking their Iranians whose self-control and emotional intelligence are suspect. This could be a game changer comes major championships like the Asian Cup.

Finally….. Do you think Ansarifard’s call to team Melli is justified?

Here is his record this season. Note that he played only one 90-minute game in the league.

Karim Ansarifard

ClubDivisionminutesgamesstartSub inSub outbenchgoalsYC2 YCRC

Omonia Nicosia		1.D277734341200

“Discipline is a top priority in Team Melli,” says Rezaei

In a short interview with Khabar Varzeshi, Rahman Rezaei, the assistant coach of Team Melli, highlighted the importance of discipline in Team Melli and how crucial it is for the overall success of the team.

Rezaaei was asked by the reporter “In the previous camp, Mohammad Hossein Kananizadegan was not invited due to disciplinary issues. Is he on the blacklist for the coming camps or not?”

“Disciplinary issues are a top priority for Team Melli’s coaching staff, headed by Amir Ghalenoei. In any case, in the previous camp, it was decided that Kananizadegan would be excluded from the group. Regarding whether he will be added to our team in the new camp or not, it is all up to the direct opinion of the respected head coach. I would like to emphasize again that Ghalenoei has a special emphasis on maintaining order and discipline in the national team because this issue is directly related to the fate of the team. You must have noticed, in the recent games of the Omid team in the Olympic qualifiers, the yellow cards were the difference between us qualifying or losing the chance to create history.”

“Disciplinary issues cost our football dearly. Previous experiences should be a lesson for us. Lately, football rules have become stricter than before, and both AFC and FIFA are very strict on the conduct of players and coaches, hence we attach high importance to it and should have zero tolerance for indiscipline no matter how important a player is for the team. We continue to advocate good behavior and discipline even in training and around the camps.”

This is an encouraging development for Team Melli’s mentality but it remains to be seen if this strict discipline and behavior will be implemented in competition matches. Historically, lax discipline has been the Achilles heel of Iranian football and that includes tactical discipline on top of behavior on and off the field. The former coach of Team Melli, Carlos Queiroz has done a fine job creating a strict disciplinarian environment in the camp. That discipline waned slightly during Dragan Skocic’s tenure.
it remains to be seen if Amir Ghalenoei is serious about this vital issue. Domestic coaches are known to be more tolerant of players’ indiscretions as evident in the Omid team in recent weeks.