Tag: Mehdi Taj

Mehdi Taremi asks Vice President of Iran’s son for a tax exemption for his luxury car.

Is there a problem with the involvement of politicians in the luxury car entry permit?

The rebel group of players in the Team Melli camp led by Taremi has issued a public call on their social media pages demanding that the two most critical members of parliament cease interfering in football and Team Melli affairs!!

It is believed that this group has the backing of former FFIRI head Mehdi Taj, who has allegedly promised his followers in Team Melli that he will rid Team Melli of Skocic if he is elected.

While the statement lacks professional ethics and knowledge of how politics works, there is also a contradiction between the words and the deeds of those players, especially those supporting Mehdi Taj. Hassan Kamaranifar, hinted at this issue and demanded that players mind their own business and not interfere in what is not their job.

In yesterday’s statement by the players, parliamentarians and politicians have been asked to take care of people’s livelihood and attend to economic problems and leave football in the hands of football players, but there is no problem if the same MPs authorize funds from the public coffer to the Team Melli Players! Some of these players had recently joined politicians to advance their personal gains. One of them is Mehdi Taremi himself who admitted in his last interview that he held a meeting with the Vice President’s son to obtain a permit for the entry of his luxury cars without paying taxes and customs!!

In the midst of all the economic and livelihood problems of the Iranians, with a large percentage of them earning in a year what Taremi and other European-based players earn in a week, they have the audacity to ask for tax exemption for their luxury cars. It seems that such intervention is fine.

 

 

Shams calls for total detachment of FFIRI from government influence.

Hossein Shams, the former head coach of Iran’s national futsal team defined the upcoming elections of the football federation as crucial and demanded full independence of the federation from political institutions.

“In my opinion, the head of the federation should be strong and independent and not a servant of the minister, pressure groups, or the parliamentarians. Don’t let non-football personnel run the federation and do not allow decisions to be made by outsiders whose interests and objectives are not necessarily in tandem with the development and progress of football and futsal. Try to improve football and futsal yourself. He should not allow the interference of the minister, he should not let the parliamentarians and the Article 90 Commission make decisions for football, and he and his team alone should do all the work. “

“This football that we are witnessing now is the end result of continuous interference from outsiders that use all sorts of tactics to influence outcomes and systematically interfere in major decisions. The head of the football federation must be strong enough to withstand such pressure and be independent of the government and parliament. After all, this is the normal practice. This is the most important feature that a federation president should possess.”

Regarding the possible competition between Azizullah Mohammadi, Mehdi Taj, and Mirshad Majdi for the presidency of the Football Federation, Shams said: “I have no idea if they have been vetted and approved yet. It has not yet been confirmed and none of these 3 have presented a plan that one could decide which one to choose. I believe that someone should be elected whose plans are practical and doable. Regrettably, as soon as they win the office, they have achieved their objective which is primarily to win recognition and hold the office of president. “

“History tells us that most of them do not fulfill any of their promises”.

The football federation in Iran has historically suffered interference and pressure from the government with impunity. The fact that the federation is virtually bankrupt and depends a lot on government handouts, pressures the leadership of the FFIRI to abide by the government but that is all done under the table fearing FIFA Sanction.

Despite the constant denials of the Ministry of Sports, it is no secret that the head of FFIRI has to visit the ministry whenever a major decision needs to be taken. The latest episode with Dragan Skocic is one typical example.

The government owns two of the biggest and most popular clubs in Iran Esteghlal and Persepolis and refusing to let go despite decades of promises to do so.

CAS Ruling on Wilmotts case starts a war of words and finger pointing!

After the Supreme Sports Court CAS ruled against Iran’s Football Federation and ordered that the former head coach of Team Melli , Marc Wilmots, be awarded euros 3,300,000 in compensation, Mehdi Taj, the former head of the FFIRI, defended his performance in the case and accused others of shortcomings that lead to this heavy fine.

Mehdi Taj’s reasonings, however, were far from convincing and lacked factual data which prompted rections from the media, legal experts, and members of the parliament. Although Taj failed to clarify the ambiguities in his own defense while at the helm of the federation that recruited the failure Wilmots, it did, however, uncover some insight into how this federation was poorly managed.

Taj’s main defense against the breach of contract is the US sanctions on Iran. The non-payment of Wilmott’s wages was due to his federation’s inability to honor the contract. However,  faced by many questions on the authenticity of his claim, he could only offer one answer to how was it that the previous coach, Carlos Queiroz was getting his wages regularly despite the same US sanction prevailing, by suggestiong that the US Sanctions got worst in the case of Wilmott’s  !!

This issue drew criticism from MP Ehsan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, who claimed that the compensation for the Wilmots case should be paid by the members of the former Board of Directors of FFIRI including Taj as they were accountable and culpable for such public funds wastage and misappropration.

Meanwhile, Hamid Sajjadi, the Minister of Sports and Youth last night, called the case of the former head coach of Team Melli as “Wilmots Tsunami” and said: “What we saw in the report is like the tip of the iceberg that is sticking out of the water.” In our meetings, I named it “Wilmots Tsunami “.

Despite the accountability of Mehdi taj and his responsibility for the failure of Wilmot both on and off the field, Taj managed to sneak in and register his name as a candidate for the new federation board and the Presidency of FFIRI!

The lack of accountability and due process has allowed many corrupt managers to get away with murder in Iran. The reality is that the country is infested with corrupt, inept, and/or incompetent managers who run public organizations to the ground with immunity. FFIRI seems to attractct all the shady elemnts.

FFIRI to pay Wilmots a further 3 Million Euros

The former head of the Legal Department of the Football Federation said: “The ruling of the Wilmots case has been issued and we have to pay an amount of around 3 million euros to this coach.”

According to Mehr reporter, Safiullah Faghanpour said ” as a result of the former Team Melli coach filing a claim demanding payment of 6 million Euros in back pay and damages, FIFA Disciplinary Committee ruled for the Belgian coach and order FFIRI pay Wilmott an amount of 6 million euros after, however, after FFIRI appealed against the amount, the case was sent to arbitration at CAS, which issued its verdict and the amount was reduced to 3 million Euros.

Faghanpour said: “There was a lot of concern here and everyone thought that we would be condemned in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but I consider what we achieved as a great success !!. The only case that we have won over the years in international tribunals is the Wilmots case, which was in CAS and the verdict was broken.”
Faghanpour mentioned that it (CAS) reduced the amount of Wilmots against Iran, but it could have reached about 12 million euros. Now the Supreme Sports Court has disregarded the claim and made the final payment due to the coach to less than 3 million euros.

Faghanpour claimed that this was a great success for the Federation and in a bizarre statement, claimed: “Now we have to pay an amount that is not very significant! ”  Faghanpour, who was talking to “Good Morning” TV show, was asked whether this decision on Wilmots’ case is final and official? He emphasized: “Yes, the verdict was issued. Probably, it will be announced this week. What I said is certain.”

Faghanpour then went on to congratulate himself on the victory !!! “I must congratulate the success we achieved in the Supreme Court of Sports!

The Belgian Marc Wilmott was appointed as the head coach of Team Melli in 2018 replacing Carlos Queiroz. He was in the job for less than 6 months and received 2 million euros from the Football Federation before losing to Bahrain and Iraq. Based on Faghanpour’s words, Wilmots has earned around 1 million euros each month in his short and disastrous time in Iran, yet he has the audacity to congratulate himself and the FFIRI for not paying 12 million euros as he claimed!

In contrast, The Croatian Dragan Skocic, whose contract is in local currency draws a salary of nearly US$100,000 a month, i.e. only 10% of what Wilmott’s earned.

It is a desperate time for Iran’s Football management and leadership. It seems the FFIRI as an organization attracts lots of charlatans, incompetent and inept people who do nothing but harm football and the country’s reputation, not to mention damage its finances. One person who is responsible for the Wilmotts debacle, Mehdi Taj is putting his name forward as a candidate for the Presidency of the FFIRI in the coming election next month!

 

 

FFIRI board and Minster of Sports summoned to the Majlis.

Finally, Mehdi Taj and his entourage board members of the Football Federation are to be challenged about the circumstances of the suspicious and highly controversial deal by the parliament.

Mehdi Taj, along with several members of FFIRI board of directors and several current and former directors, attended a questioning session in the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

According to ISNA, the purpose of FFIRI board of directors’ appearance in Majlis is to determine if there was wrongdoing, negligence or corruption behind the signing of the deal with Wilmots, especially since the federation has been claiming for many years under both Ali Kaffashian and Mehdi Taj that it is critically short of funds even to pay its basic obligation, like the employee’s salaries, National teams training camps and inability to arrange meaningful friendly games for Team Melli to prepare for the World Cup citing fund shortage. Yet, the same federation that has been constantly seeking handouts from the government in effect using blackmail tactics, signs a multi-million dollar contract with a coach who has lasted only six months with Ivory Coast before he was sacked!

The FFIRI had steadfastly refused to disclose the terms of the deal and the justifications until public pressure and the threat of law suite finally exposed this horrendous commitment by the bankrupt federation.

 

Mehdi Taj and Ebrahim Shakoori, along with the current board of directors are under investigation for signing the worst sporting contract in the history of Iran at all levels. A contract with Marc Wilmots which resulted in Iran’s Team Melli not only risking eliminations from the qualifiers with two consecutive defeats under the Belgian but also resulted in the coach of Team Melli leaving the country accusing his employer of several breaches of the contract, which was supported by FIFA’s committee with Iranian side ordered to pay some € 6.2 million in fines to the person who has put Team Melli on the brink of elimination from the World Cup !.

The Minister of Sports and Youth Masoud Soltanifar and his deputies are also summoned for the hearing. It is strongly believed that the influence of the Minister was telling in the conclusion of the contract. With FFIRI board constantly seeking handouts, it is believed that none dared to challenge the Ministry’s choice while Soltanmifar denies any wrongdoing and only introducing the coach by recommendation of Iran-Belgium Chambers of commerce.

The executives are expected to answer questions from members of the Parliament about the background and the termination of the contract with Wilmots. FFIRI has borrowed over € 2.2 million from the social security organization to pay Wilmot’s salary.

Many observers are skeptical about any progress of the proceeding as it is feared that the issue will be kept under wrap and no one will be prosecuted especially since the Ministry of Sports and Youth is involved in the case as defendants.

FIFA’s ultimate warning to FFIRI on government interference!

The former vice-president of the Esteghlal Club says that all the people who have led the Iranian football for the past four years should be held accountable for their infractions and the damage to Iran’s reputation.

Ali Khatir, former vice-president of the Esteghlal Club and former deputy secretary-general of the FFIRI, in an interview with ISNA, commented on FIFA’s refusal to recognize FFIRI’s statutes and the election results. In 2019 FIFA’s letter referring to paragraphs 14 and 15 of the FFIRI Statute, the world football ruling body warned the Iranian Football Federation that its statute is not in line with the FIFA statute, and referred to paragraph 15. FIFA demanded that all deficiencies and findings which were mentioned by FIFA in the year 2017 after the review of Iranian federations are still not corrected and hence are still not valid and in violation of FIFA regulations and bylaws. Khatir was the Deputy Secretary-General of FFIRI at the time when the FIFA letter was sent.

He added: “FIFA has even given the federation the opportunity to commission a few experts to come and assist FFIRI and amend the statute to be in line with international laws. FIFA meticulously examined our Statute word by word, and even sent its own proposed amendments in 2018, FFIRI management did not respond and there was no follow-up.  Article 15 of the FIFA Statute contains a number of principles such as the independence of the federation, the separation of authorities,  responsibilities n the structure of the federation, financial transparency, and a number of other items that the Iranian Football Federation Statute must include in its statute.

The last letter submitted by FIFA warns FFIRI that if those rules were not followed and applied, FIFA may suspend FFIRI and even withdraw its recognition. The letter even mentions paragraph 19 of the FIFA Statute, which states that a third party (the government or the Ministry of Sport and Youth) should not be influential in the affairs of the federation. The federation must be independent and run directly or indirectly without anyone’s intervention from the state, government or officials of the government. However, in Statute of the FFIRI, there is a clause that allows governments to vote and be members of the Assembly or board of directors. That is a clear and flagrant violation of international laws. The hint had already been given to the Football Federation but they did not respond to FIFA’s directives for reasons they knew best or feared the Ministry of Sports will almost certainly cut all financial support, but now FIFA stands firm and says that if elections are held under such statutes, it will not be recognized by FIFA and possible sanction will follow”.

He continued: “The federation had sent a letter to FIFA on February 9th asking them to hold the election, but FIFA reminded FFIRI of what had transpired before, saying that FFIRI had wasted two years and not replied to our correspondences under the pretext of amending the statute. You didn’t. We even sent a representative to you on August 9 and emailed you five times. Now that you want to hold these elections, we are against it. We must first amend the statute and pass it in an urgent assembly. In this regard, FIFA says that the federation should submit a regular plan and roadmap to the international ruling body”

About the government’s involvement in the sport for the sake of funding the football, Khatir said: “Article 19 of the FIFA Statute explicitly states that the government has no right to interfere in any shape or form in football, even if it wants to provide financial support or sponsor it. We have accepted this, and the government must accept that the Football Federation is an independent public body a non-government organization, subject to the laws of the country but not controlled, influenced or interfered in by the Ministry of Sport. The head of the Football Federation is not an employee of the Ministry of Sports.”

 

“We have reached a dead-end in football that we need to be able to get out of,” Khatir recalled. “The only way out is compliance and cooperation. I believe that all the people who have led this football for the past four years and who have stumbled into this game should be held accountable for their appalling performance. They need to explain and justify their non-actions.

The former deputy chairman of the Esteghlal Club stated at the end: “Gentlemen of the Federation, you have been at the helm for eight years and you have not been able to make a positive difference to our football. Open the way for the elite and motivated youth to take over. The statute needs to be amended to open the way for the elite in football to benefit football.”

FFIRI offenses triggers AFC and FIFA actions.

Iran’s Football Federation has been given serious warnings from the two governing bodies.

The disciplinary committee of the AFC has found FFIRI guilty of serious violations and slapped it with a heavy fine of US$130,000. The breach of the Law which amount to cheating in issuing the Professional License to Iranian clubs despite the fact that those clubs did not meet the standards and the bylaws of professional football clubs as specified by AFC and FIFA.

FFIRI has renewed the licenses of Esteghlal, Persepolis, Shahr Khodro and Sepahan Esfahan to enable them to compete in this season’s AFC Champions League, however, those clubs have not met all the requirements. FFIRI failed to apply the law and issued Professional Licences knowingly that there were many areas of shortfall and violations of the international charter of professional clubs.

The fine is suspended for two years by the AFC, however, a repeat of such breach of the law will mean that FFIRI has to pay the full amount in addition to another punitive measure which normally means expulsion of the club from Asian Competitions.

While AFC has been firm against FFIRI, FIFA was in no mood either with its warning to the Iranians that the bylaws of its football federation are in violation of the international standards set by FIFA and no election will be recognized until an amendment to the laws is incorporated.

In a letter to FFIRI, the International Football Federation, while expressing objections to the FFIRI’s statute, called for the postponement of the election of its President.  The election of FFIRI president, vice-Presidents, and executive board members, was supposed to be held on March 5,  The International Football Federation, which has long been examining the status of the Iranian Federation, has emphasized in its letter that the Statute of the Iranian Football Federation has not been approved and should be amended. By sending this letter to the Iranian Football Federation, the March 6 election will be canceled and postponed to another time.

Despite the so-called independence of the FFIRI in Iran, the fact remains that the Government through the ministry of Youth and Sports is the de-facto controlling authority of all sports in Iran particularly football. From appointing of Chairmen to CEO’s and selecting the Coaches of Team Melli, The government has ensured a tight and full control of the sports.

Meanwhile, many observers believe that FFIRI election hardly qualifies to be called that as it is all selection and appointment cleverly disguised as free elections.

Mehdi Taj has resigned his post as President of FFIRI due to ill health.

Haidar Baharvand elected as Interim President of FFIRI

Haidar Baharvand has been appointed as Acting President of the Iranian Football Federation and Chairman of the League committee at the same time, according to Hedayat Mombini a member of FFIRI’s Executive Committee following the emergency meeting of the federation’s Board of Directors.

“After the resignation of Mr. Mehdi Taj as a result of ill-health, we had a meeting to discuss this subject and according to the Statute of the Football Federation, one of the Vice-Presidents or a member of the Board of Directors of the Federation had to be selected as a replacement. Since Ali Kaffashian, who previously held this post has resigned, Mr. Baharvand was elected in an acting capacity. This was the whole subject of the meeting and following this decision another meeting was held with the Minister of Youth and Sports who gave his approval to this appointment” Hedayat Mombini said to ISNA reporter.

It seems that FFIRI Executive Committee and Board Member have no concerns or apprehensions about publically stating that the appointment of the head of the football federation FFIRI or approval thereof, is sanctioned by the government of Iran in direct violation of FIFA charter.

 Mombini added: “We are in a critical period as Omid Team will soon compete in AFC U23 Championship hoping to qualify for the Olympic games and there are also concerns on the appointment of a Team Melli. God willing, with this process completed and the situation returning to normal, the leadership of the Football Federation will continue in the same way. “

Asked how is the arrangement for the league, Mombini said: “Anyway, this issue has come up and now Mr. Baharvand will be the head of both, the Football Federation and the League Organization. We have no changes in the organization of the league at this time. We will decide next week on the Federation and Electoral Assembly dates. As you know, the elections were supposed to take place on May 6, but we will make the final decision sooner than that”

“I have not seen or heard of a written letter of resignation” Mombini responded to a question of whether Taj’s letter of resignation has reached the board of directors. “I have no knowledge about that but Mehdi Taj has verbally resigned.” !!!

Asked about the urgency in selecting a Head Coach for Team Melli, Mombini said “there is a lot of work that needs to be done for the appointment of the coach; it would be a little late if we wait for May when the elections of a new President is scheduled. The coach and his assistants need to be selected soon. We are considering foreign and domestic options but are more inclined to choose foreign ones.”

Mehdi Taj , President of FFIRI resigns.

The President of the Iranian Football Federation has submitted his resignation from the post due to ill health. Mehdi Taj, who took the helm of the FFIRI has recently suffered to stokes and was hospitalized until lately back.

Taj joined the federation in 2008 where he was appointed as First Vice President until 2012, then President of the Iran Football League Organization (2013–2016) before taking over from Ali Kaffashian in May 2016.

Taj started his sports administration functions with Sepahan Esfahan as Secretary of the Board on two terms (1992–1994, 2002–2006) and president of the club (1994–1999).[2] He was also editor-in-chief of Jahan Varzesh from 1991 until 2001. On 7 May 2016, he was elected as president of Iranian Football Federation with 51 votes, succeeding Ali Kaffashian

Minister of Sport’s reaction to Taj’s resignation

Massoud Soltanifar, was disheartened to hear the news of the resignation of Mehdi Taj from the Football Federation. He said: “The recent heart attacks created grave concern for Mr. Taj and the sports community, and it is sad for me to hear about his resignation.  Soltanifar, today, expressing regret over the resignation of Mehdi Taj, said: “He was a capable, hard-working, accurate manager and we brought with him the best result in the history of soccer in the World Cup. It was Mr. Taj’s success. The Minister of Sports and Youth added: “His health is more important to us and to his esteemed family and to the football community, and we certainly do not have a capable manager now in charge of the Football Bureau, but as a trusted adviser alongside sports management.”

According to FFIRI regulation, one of the deputies will take over the reign until the holding of an election convention in May 2020. Second Vice President Baharvand and  Women’s committee Vice President Sufi Zadeh are the candidates for the post. Most probably the former will take over the post.

The Football Federation is currently undergoing a crises situation with a numerous problems, including a vacant Team Melli head coach post,  Poor results of Team Melli in World Cup qualifiers, refusal of the IRIB to recognize TV Broadcast rights, FIFA scrutiny on allowing women into football stadiums for league matches and the severe financial difficulties facing the federation.

Amir Ghalenoei, The pride of Iranian coaches

Amir Ghalenoei is the most decorated coach in the Iranian domestic league. His record stands at 5 championships titles, 3 with Esteghlal and 2 with Sepahan. All this is about to change as the controversial Ghalenoei is leading the charge for another championship and another record-breaking season.

Sepahan already holds the record for 21 consecutive undefeated matches in the Iranian Premier League. An old record leftover from the tenth Premier League era. In that year, Sepahan, coached by Amir Ghalenoei, lost against Esteghlal in the seventh week but remained unbeaten until the twenty-ninth week of the league when it lost to Mes Kerman.

This record is about to collapse. Again it is Sepahan and again it is Amir Ghalenoei. Interestingly, this time it also started with a defeat against Esteghlal, which was last season. Since then, the yellow and black jerseys have not been defeated. The only zero in the league table standings of the current Iranian Premier League is under losses for Sepahan.  Naft Masjid Soleiman finished the half-season unbeaten, but eventually, they were defeated in Tabriz in the 16th week. Sepahan with 31 points leads the table ahead of Persepolis with goal difference.

 

When Amir Ghalenoei set the record for undefeated matches, he also won the title with Sepahan.  He won the league title twice for the “Nisf Jahan” club and can now break his record for the third time for Sepahan. Ghalenoei and Sepahan have played 20 consecutive Premier League games without a loss. If they win the next two games, they will have a new record.

Team Melli under Ghalenoei in AFC Asian Cup 2007

Additionally, with Sepahan, Zob Ahan, Esteghlal, and TractorSazi, Ghalenoei has also been vice-Champion.

Amir Ghalenoei also managed Team Melli most notably during the AFC Asian Cup 2007. His statements before and after games are always controversial. He is not by any means unique in his rhetoric as almost all the Iranian coaches have this Blame Culture, feeling of being prosecuted, conspired against, treated unfairly and most famous of all of them, “the referee was against us” mentality. Ghalenoei has been sent off to the stands, sanctioned and disciplined many times in his career for his misdemeanors; however, he remains unique in one important aspect. He is technically one of the most acute and advance coaches that Iran has ever seen.  If there was an Iranian coach that can easily coach at the highest level in Asia (language barrier permitting) it is Amir Ghalenoei. This man is head and shoulder above the rest.

 

It is a great pity that his chances of coaching Team Melli are not great as he admits himself, he has far too many adversaries domestically. The FFIRI and Taj will not be able to deal with the outspoken Ghalenoei. The loser, however, is Team Melli and the national football at large.