Tag: Hossein Mahini

27/11/2022

Iran releases footballer Vouria Ghafouri, prominent dissident on bail, say reports

The arrest on Thursday of VoUria Ghafouri, who is Kurdish and had spoken out in support of the protests, had sparked an outcry as the Iranian team plays in the World Cup in Doha.

Agence France-Presse November 27, 2022 09:29:53 IST

FIFA World Cup: Iran releases footballer Voria Ghafouri, prominent dissident on bail, say reports

File image of former Iran international Voria Ghafouri. AP

Iranian authorities on Saturday released on bail former international footballer Voria Ghafouri and prominent dissident Hossein Ronaghi, two of the most prominent figures detained in the crackdown on the protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, reports said.

The arrest on Thursday of Ghafouri, who is Kurdish and had spoken out in support of the protests, had sparked an outcry as the Iranian team plays in the World Cup in Doha.

“Voria Ghafouri and Hossein Ronaghi were released on bail,” Iran’s Fars news agency said on its social media accounts.

The Iranian newspaper Shargh also said that Ghafouri had been released following his arrest during a training session on Thursday.

“Hossein was released tonight on bail to undergo treatment,” Hossein Ronaghi’s brother Hassan wrote on Twitter.

Their father Ahmad posted a picture of Hossein in hospital, saying he had been released after a hunger strike that lasted 64 days.

According to the UN, around 14,000 people have been arrested in the crackdown on the protests that erupted after the death of Amini who had been arrested by the Tehran morality police.

Among those detained are dozens of prominent journalists, cultural figures, lawyers, and also sportspeople .
Former Team Melli players, Parviz Broumand and Hossein Mahini have also been arrested and released recently.

Ghafouri, an outspoken figure who appeared 28 times for Iran up until 2019, was arrested after a club training session over accusations that he spread “propaganda” against the Islamic republic, Fars said on Thursday.

Originally from the Kurdish-populated city of Sanandaj in western Iran, Ghafouri had been particularly critical of the crackdown in Kurdish-populated areas of western Iran where activists say dozens have been killed in the last 10 days.

Ronaghi, 37, a contributor to The Wall Street Journal, has for years been one of the most fearless critics of the Islamic republic still living in the country.

Ronaghi was taken to Evin prison after his arrest on September 24. His family had said he risks dying due to a kidney condition.

Other prominent figures remain in detention in the crackdown on the protests, which are seen as the biggest challenge to the Islamic republic since the 1979 revolution.

They include the prominent dissidents Arash Sadeghi and Majid Tavakoli as well as journalists Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi who helped expose the Amini case.

Renowned Iranian film-makers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof were meanwhile detained this year even before the current protest wave began.

30/09/2022

Hossein Mahini arrested for sympathizing with the people.

As the social unrest and protests marches across Iran continues unabated, the authority that has an iron grip on sports, especially football, has acted with brute force against any footballer or celebrities who dare side with the people’s protests or post messages in support of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year Kurdish girl who died under the custody of the Police in Tehran.

In the latest such move, the former Team Melli and Persepolis player Hossein Mahini has been arrested as a result of quote ” for publishing ed material supporting and encouraging riots on his online pages in the past few days” unquote. IRNA, the official Iranian news agency confirmed the arrest. While the 36 years old Mahini, a native of Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, has been arrested by the security apparatus the whereabouts of Ali Karimi whose house has been alleged to be confiscated by the authorities is still unknown. Karimi was targeted by the Mullahs for his outspoken comments and courage well before Mahsa Amini’s death made the world headlines.

Mahini played 26 times for Team Melli between 2011 to 2016.

Confidential information from the Team Melli camp returning to Tehran today, speaks of strong warnings to every player in the squad to refrain from expressing ani anti-government views in social media posts, speaking out against the security forces, or expressing sympathy with the late Mahsa Amini. The players are categorically prevented from participating in political rallies unless it is a pro-Khamenei rally. The consequences of disobeying these orders are severe for the players and their families.

24/08/2015

Team Melli unable to use players under Military Service.

The Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran has written to the concerned departments declaring that all those players who have found to be guilty of fraud by the courts for holding fake military release certificates , will not be allowed to join Team Melli or Omid teams. The ban is valid until the completion of their service.

Team Melli will be playing against Guam at home then India away. Carlos Queiroz will be unable to select those players although in real terms , none are fixed players in the team. The players are Arash Afshin , Bakhtiyar Rahmani , Shoja’a Khalilzadeh , Hossein Mahini and Soroush Rafei. In addition , Mehrdad Pooladi who is currently out of the country , is also put on the black list and cannot play for Team Melli.

The communique from the armed forces did not specifically mention those other players who have not cheated and are currently serving their mandatory military service as required by the law. Such players are normally banned from leaving the country while serving but dispensation has been issued before on request from the FFIRI and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Team Melli will start a short training camp next Thursday in Azadi Sports Complex in preparation for the match on 3rd September against Guam in Azadi and on the 8th in Mumbai against India.

27/05/2015

Mehrdad Pooladi is not coming back!

Much has been said about Team Melli’s left back who was Iran’s best player in the FIFA World Cup 2014. Mehrdad Pooladi was accused by the authorities along with a large number of other footballers of submitting fake documents in order to get exemption from Military Service. The inspection which was carried out in 2014 also named several other Team Melli players like Hossein Mahini and Bakhtiar Rahmani in the list of unlawful certification. Consequently, these players must carry out the mandatory 2 years military service while they are only allowed to play football is limited number of military affiliated clubs like Malavan and Tractorsazi.

Unlike the other players, Pooladi was pursuing his career in Qatar. He was under professional contract for Al Shahaniya team in the QSL. After concerted efforts by the football federation and with support of the Ministry of Youth & Sports , Pooladi was given a special dispensation and allowed to play for Team Melli for the duration of the AFC Asian Cup, on the condition that he completes the compulsory Military Service as soon as football season ends.

Pooladi played in the Asian Cup and like the World Cup; he was one of the excellent players of the team until that dreaded moment against Iraq. Pooladi managed to get himself red carded in the quarter final match against Iraq to leave his team a man short. The aftermath of the dismissal varied with most fans blaming Australian referee for what seemed to be a harsh and hasty decision. The referee was put under pressure to produce a second yellow card by a number of Iraqi players surrounding him for what seemed to be an innocuous touch between Pooladi and Iraqi goalkeeper. Jalal Hassan Hachim, in goal for Iraq , truly dramatized the incident making a real scene and faking injury and pain. Benjamin Williams, under the influence of the Iraqi players, pulled the 2^nd yellow for Pooladi and subsequently the red leaving Team Melli to play the full second half and the two extra times and penalties with a man short.

Others blamed Pooladi for being sloppy and crude perhaps even cocky. Both of the two cards that he received could have been avoided by a disciplined professional player. In any case, it was the end the tournament for Pooladi and Team Melli as the penalty kicks were not too kind for Queiroz’s men.

After the Asian Cup Pooladi did not act on his case with the military service commission and did not seek any references for his future. When Queiroz was preparing the team for the European tour, Pooladi was one of his main players on the list, but he was informed that the left back cannot feature for Team Melli unless he sorts out his military service.

Pooladi was procrastinating and seemed to have lost interest in the whole case. He was negatively affected by the bad mouthing he received from some fans while the media was not exactly too kind to him either. One major sport daily headline read “The deserter is back” when Pooladi was called for duty for the AFC Asian Cup. Not exactly complimentary words for a player who was preparing to represent his country and play for its honor and pride.

Somewhere along the line, Pooladi has made his decision. Calls from the football federation officials asking him about his status with the Military Service and his availability for Team Melli seemed to be answered vaguely or put on hold.

Pooladi must have made his mind up not to return to Iran. The season ended disappointingly for the ex-Persepolis player. Along with Masoud Shojaei , the Iranian couple could not manage to help Al Shahaniya avoid relegation. His future with his relegated club remains uncertain and so are his days with Team Melli.

It is a shame for Team Melli to lose such a quality player. Carlos Queiroz had a lot of faith in the left back and was his strongest supporter. On the field, Pooladi is robust, consistent and skillful defender. Off the field, he had his fair share of troubles with authority, displaying the same petulant attitude of many talented Iranian footballers.

31/12/2014

The forgotten men : Steven ‘Mehrdad’ Beitashour

Carlos Queiroz was globetrotting looking for dual citizenship players or those with Iranian ancestry to pick them for Team Melli. in his quest , he managed to find a player who was a long way from Iran. Steven’ Mehrdad ‘ Beitashour , playing for San Jose Earthquake at the time, was one of these players attracting the attention of the Portuguese coach.

INTERNATIONAL

A dual American-Iranian citizen, Beitashour chose to represent Iran after being approached by Queiroz, when he was called into camp for 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification. He made his debut in Iran’s 2-1 win over Thailand, coming on as a 76th minute substitute for Hossein Mahini. He made his first start and recorded his first assist for Iran in the ensuing match, again against Thailand, a 3-0 victory that ensured their qualification to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. Beitashour then went on to start the next match as well, a 4-1 victory over Lebanon. Prior to committing to Iran, Beitashour had been called into one camp with the United States men’s national team, getting the call from head coach Jurgen Klinsmann in August of 201

The American-Iranian also made the squad to the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil, however he was not picked to start any match nor was he used as a substitute.

From then on , Beitashour went into oblivion with Team Melli. Not selected for any matches , not that there were many and not considered for the finals of the Asian Cup 2015. Whether he will be available again to play for Iran in the future, is debatable.

So , what went wrong?

The major problem with selecting Beitashour was the logistics. Selecting a player who resides and makes his living on the other side of the world is a logistical nightmare under any circumstances. The only practical time that a player can join a squad is during major tournaments such as the World Cup , once every 4 years. Under other circumstances or during FIFA days, a trip from USA to Iran and back within 3 or 4 days is simply a nightmare.

Logistics aside, Beitashour had a very tough player and established veteran to compete with in Team Melli. AT the time, Khosro Heydari was one of the best performers in the team while Hossein Mahini was closely challenging for recognition as a fix starter. Apart from these two , several younger defenders were raring to go. Beotashour’s position was looking shaky and his value for the team beginning to be questioned.

Overall, Beitashour never really established himself in the team with the logistics problem and the tough competition around. In total , he made 6 appearances for Team Melli half of it only as a starter. At 27 Years old, he has still a long way to go in his football career, whether any of it will be with Team Melli is another argument. At the present moment and with the Team in Australia without Beitashour , the Vancouver Whitecaps defender may find it difficult to make the Team Melli squad anytime soon before the next World Cup. Beitashour is still a quality player as he has shown with his club in the MSL where he made 27 appearances for the Canadian outfit. He was also included in the “Protected Players” list , which indicates that his team is not willing to let him go or transfer to another club.

15/12/2014

Cartlos Queiroz appeals to the authorities to release his players.

Carlos Queiroz , Team Melli coach with “humility” urged the football federation and the authorities to find a solution for the missing key players in the squad.

On arrival in Johannesburg , Queiroz gave a brief statement to the press , pleading with his superiors to actively seek the release of players such as Mehrdad Pooladi , Soroush Rafei , Hossein Mahini , Mohammad Nouri and others who are either totally banned from playing football or have restriction on their playing rendering them not being able to be in the squad. The restrictions are normally in the form of players not being allowed to leave the country under military service regulations.

Queiroz said “ In order to achieve our objectives , I need players. I’m respectfully appealing to the authorities to realize the importance of the presence of some key players that we require and work to solve their problems.”.

He said officials of the Football Association and coaches of Team Melli meantime, spent a lot of energy and worked hard. “Despite months without being pay, we’ve worked hard to achieve the team goals. With respect to the authorities, we humbly believe that there are ways we want to help the team, it would be no cost!”

Responding to the question whether any friendly games in the South African camp has been arranged, Queiroz said “as long as we have players missing , I do not have anything to say about this topic.”

Team Melli is setting up a 10 days camp in Johannesburg in preparation for the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia. No friendly matches have been confirmed yet in this camp.

30/09/201430/09/2014

Portugal camp list announced

FFIRI announced the initial list of 26 players who are nominated to attend the Team Melli training camp in Portugal. The final list will be announced by Thursday.

Team Melli will be flying to Portugal on 4^th October. The camp will be based in the capital Lisbon.

Two games have been arranged during this camp. On Friday 10^th October Estoril will be Team Melli opponents while on Tuesday 22^nd , Team Melli will face Benfica in its second test match.

The list includes Seyed Mehdi Rahmati who was blacklisted by Queiroz, with 7 goalkeepers on the list, which is a first in Team Melli’s squad lists, it remains to be seen if Rahmati is shortlisted for the next phase of Team Melli training. Daniel Davari has shown little interest in joining the squad and prefers to stay home for family reasons.

There is no place for Peyam Sadeghi because of his suspension, however, Hossein Mahini who is officially suspended by the League commission and the Military authority is included in the list !

Mehrdad Pooladi who is out of contract and has no club to train with , is named in the squad. Pooladi’s last competitive match was against Bosnia on 25th June 2014. He has not been playing or training for a league team for 3 months now, but his inclusion in the list is nothing too strange as Mehrdad Pooladi was once named in the squad while he was walking on crutches!

There are two players who are mentioned as being part of the list , but not announced by the FFIRI.

GOALKEEPERS

Rahman AHMADI, Alireza HAGHIGHI,Sousha MAKANI, Alireza BIRANVAND, Daniel DAVARI, Mohsen FROUZAN , Mehdi RAHMATI

DEFENDERS

Mehrdad POOLADI, Hashim BEIGZADEH,Jalal HOSSEINI, Pejman MONTAZERI,Ehsan HAJSAFY, Khosrow HEYDARI, Javad NEKOUNAM, AliReza JAHANBAKHSH, Soja’a KHALILZADEH, Ahmad ALE NEMEH, Steven BEITASHOUR, Mehrdad JAMAATI, Morteza POURALIGANJI, Ahmad ABDULLAZADEH, Hossein AmirHossein MAHINI,SADEGHI,.

MIDFIELD

Yaghoub KARIMI,Andranik TEYMOURIAN, Omid EBRAHIMI, Ashkan DEJAGAH,
Reza HAGHIGHI SHANDIZ, Soroush RAFEI , SHOJAEI, Masoud, Ghassim HADDADIFAR, MohamadReza KHALATBARY, Saman NARIMANJAHAN

FORWARDS

Reza GHOOCHANNEJAD, Sardar AZMOUN, Karim ANSARIFARD, Mehdi SHARIFI

28/09/2014

FFIRI disciplinary committee ruling on the Military Service.

Ismael Hassanzadeh , head of the Disciplinary Committee of the FFIRI has confirmed that the federation will deal firmly with any cases of fake Release Certificates from Military Service.

In a recent statement , Hassanzadeh said “We are awaiting the report from the League commission about those cases. Any player who is found to be in violation of the military service regulations or holding a fake certificate will be immediately suspended form playing league football.”

A recent statement by Persepolis management have implied that Hossein Mahini, who is one of the players suspended by the federation due to violations of Military Service rules, will be soon be allowed to play for Persepolis until his case is heard by the authorities. This statement triggered fears amongst other clubs that Persepolis is wielding its power and influences to get their player off the hook while other clubs will be denied such privileges and remain suspended.

Ismael Hassanzadeh also refuted any suggestions that Payam Sadeghian will be pardoned putting an end to another widely circulated news that the suspended player is about to play for his club, Persepolis and join Team Melli training camp in Portugal.

18/09/2014

Mahini on the brink of suspension from football !

Hossein Mahini , Team Melli and Persepolis defender is on the brink of suspension from football after he failed to produces genuine and authentic medical report justifying his exclusion from the mandatory Military Service.

Mahini , who was born in Bushehr, but played most of his senior football in Khuzestan , was named as one of over 100 footballers holding fake Exemption from Military Service certificates. Many footballers were subsequently acquitted while the name of about 10 was publicized as player who are confirmed to have cheated. None of the 10 players were Team Melli members of any age level.

Mahini’s exemption was based on a medical certificate, which apparently was not very convincing to the investigating committee. These investigations were initiated by the authorities, ironically after Persepolis and Ali Daei blew the whistle on Foolad Khuzestan players hoping that the FFIRI will deprive Foolad from their championship title last season and declare Persepolis, who were ranked second behind Foolad, as champions!

The federation refused to act on Persepolis demands due to legality and absence of such ruling in the Federations byelaws, however FFIRI initiated an investigations into these allegations and passed the findings to the relevant authorities. As Karma would have it , an important Persepolis player in Hossein Mahini was on the list to the dismay of the reds.

If Mahini fails to produce authentic documents, he will face at least a two year suspension from playing for Persepolis putting more pressure on the beleaguered club especially in the defense where the team is already suffering after the loss of two international players Jalal Hosseini and Mehrdad Pooladi.

30/07/2014

3 Team Melli players among holder of fake certificates.

The name of 21 player has been disclosed by the Football league commission as holding fake certificates of Military End of Service.

A two years mandatory military service is still a requirement for Iranian Males and usually starts after school graduation. Under certain circumstances like illness or complicated family issues, a waiver can be given by the government.

Some time ago, rumors have started that many Iranian players are holding fake “Certificate of End of Service” or “Certificate of Waiver” that is issued by the Military authorities. The strong rumors prompted the Football League to investigate and examine the certificates. It is not clear whether this examination has been applied across the board or only on certain suspects cases.

The Football league, thereafter publicized the name of the 21 players that included current Team Melli players. The FFIRI has limited authority on the subject and does not have any legal power beyond requiring these players to play for teams with a military background.

This is another oddity of Iran’s football, as the players under military service are allowed to play what is theoretically a full professional career, yet also carry out a full time military duty! In reality, famous players, hardly do any Military or community service as dictated by law and instead they play professional football for military teams before being allowed to return to their original clubs.

The identification of Military teams is another subject that it has never been cleared by the lawmakers. Tractorsazi Tabriz, and Malvan Bandar Anzali are considered as military team, although ther association with the armed forces are vaguely defined. Malvan used to be the Navy team but it has been released to the Anzali Duty Free zone for a few years now.

It is not clear whether the Iranian Prosecutor General or the District Attorney of the government will take any action against the violators or persons who issued the fake certificates, a crime punishable by law.

Among the published list, there are 3 current Team Melli players , AliReza Haghighi who played all the 3 matches in the World Cup , Bakhtiar Rahmani and Hossein Mahini

Other Team Melli players are Ali HAMOUDI and Arash AFSHIN.

Two young team players are also included Milad Gharibi and Shahab Karami.

It seems that from the number of players involved from the South , the Master producer of fake documents , doesn’t live far from Ahvaz where he seemed to have done a good business but definitely illegal and fraudulent acts.! Afshin_Arash