The question of the Football Federation taking severe disciplinary action against Sepahan and Esteghlal has raised a controversy amongst the media, the fans and clubs.
The storm was started by Seyed Hadi Ayottolahei when he was asked by ISNA football reporter on the reaction of the Football Federation against the clubs that have refused to release their players for Team Melli camp travelling to South Africa. Atyottolahei’s response, quoting ISNA, was that the federation will severely deal with the wrongdoer clubs for such act including declaring all the matches the clubs have used Team Melli players, as a 3-0 loss and banning the clubs from players transfer activities.
The first penalty would have surely resulted in both clubs relegation.
Adel Ferodowsipour in last night NAVAD program criticized Ayottolahei’s statement and threat against the clubs calling it inappropriate. Amir Ghalenoei was more defiant and used the passionate angle and patriotic argument to defend his club against the wrath of the federation and possible sanction. Sepahan Esfahan, interestingly enough , remained quiet and preferred to channel their energy and resources towards the upcoming crucial match in the AFC Champions league, but no doubt , they will have a lot to say against these threats after the Asian competition matches are over.
While Ayottolahei was referring to FIFA rules and penal codes in support of his strong stand against the clubs, it was not clear which of those rules addressing clubs refusal to release the players to the national team , he was referring to.
TeamMelli. com decided to do carry out its own investigation into the matter to clarify the issue for the public and Team Melli fans.
We have contacted Mr. Shahin Rahmani of AFC to get a clear picture of the appropriate rules in the case of clubs and national teams, the commitments of both sides and legal requirement by FIFA.
Mr. Rahmani, provided the legal ruling by FIFA addressing the release of players for the National team for the upcoming World Cup 2014 in Brazil. Under article 10 of FIFA ruling, the following will apply
10. To protect players from burn-out before the final competition of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, FIFA has set dates as follows:
(i) The final matchday at club level for the 30 players nominated on the release lists for the final competition of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ is 18 May 2014.
(ii) The mandatory rest period for the players on the release lists is from 19 to 25 May 2014. Any special exemptions may only be granted by the FIFA Executive Committee.
(iii) The preparation phase for the participating member associations in the final competition of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ begins on 26 May 2014.
We have also contacted FIFA regarding their rules on the matter. The World football governing body referred our question to the legal department of the organization because the queries have legal impacts. FIFA said “Such enquiries need to be submitted either via fax or ordinary (or courier) mail and be duly signed by the sender.” This ultra-cautious approach by the FIFA perhaps reflects their sensitivity about applying sanctions, which is understandable , but in contrast to the Iranian football official approach who condemned the clubs before all the facts were clear.
At the end, it is our firm belief that Iranian football federation has no leg to stand on regarding the sanction against the clubs when it comes to releasing the players to the national team. There is always the question of non-transparency or secret accords between the clubs and the federation that the media and the public is not aware of, and hence we cannot verify, but as far as FIFA is concerned, the players have up to 26th May 2014 to join the national team camps not 14th April as demanded by the FFIRI.