Tag: Mehdi Taj

FFIRI taking AFC and Saudis to court.

Mehdi Taj, the President of Iran's football association FFIRI has announced that a delegation headed by Ali Kaffashian will proceed to Switzerland to present Iran's case against the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Saudi Arabia.

After the breaking of political relation between the two countries, the Saudi Football authorities refused to allow its teams to travel to Iran citing security fears. The AFC , which is led by a Bahraini Shaikh, and no doubt influenced by dominating Arab lobby in the Asian Ruling body, immediately accepted the Saudi argument and ordered both countries to play their matches against each other on neutral ground. This move, not only put a huge burden on Iranian teams which are already suffering financial hardship but also deprived them from that world-famous passionate support they usually receive in Azadi stadium.

Iran's FFIRI grudgingly accepted the AFC ruling initially , however, it consulted several law firms and international legal consultancies to determine the legitimacy of the ruling by AFC. Neither United Nation nor FIFA or any other world bodies for that matter, has announced that Iran is a war zone or it is an unsafe venue for football or other  sport activities. The Saudi move was purely politically motivated and AFC had failed to execute its due diligence when it issued the ruling against Iran. The AFC ruling was against AFC's own principles about politics in football. 

As recently as last month, the AFC has written to its Member Associations reiterating that all stakeholders involved in Asian football must respect the principle of political neutrality.
The letter sent by the AFC stressed that the principle is a cornerstone of both the AFC and of the international sports movement, and is reflected in Article 3.2 of the AFC Statutes, which states: “the AFC is neutral in all matters of politics and religion”.

In the case that FFIRI has lodged in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ,  the Iranians are demanding that AFC reverse its ruling and allow Iranian teams and clubs to exercise its right to play at home grounds in front of its own crowds,  in addition to a demand  for compensation for all the expenses incurred by travelling Iranian teams and officials. The defendant is AFC and its head, Shk. Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, 

The case put forward by FFIRI will be quite interesting for Qatar. There is very little doubt that Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain teams will refuse to play in Qatar putting due to the recent break of relationship. As such this will put immense pressure on the AFC to obey the Saudi lobby and traet Qatari teams the same as it treated the Iranians. Qatar, like Iran , is a safe country and will be hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022.  No doubt that the Saudi lobby will claim some terrorism allegation for its case against Qatar.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; French: Tribunal arbitral du sport, TAS) is an international quasi-judicial body established to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne(Switzerland) and its courts are located in New York City, Sydney and Lausanne. Temporary courts are established in current Olympic host cities.

Is it worth it?

Iranian football has never been exposed to such a humiliating treatment like the ones that it is receiving from this Mozambique born Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz.

For the last few years and due to all sort of reasons, he has been treating the football federation with contempt. Manipulating the faults and the sheer incompetency of the system managed by the likes of Ali Kaffashian , Mehdi Taj and MohammadReza Saket (the so-called Esfahani Mafia), Queiroz has opened a front against the establishment and began a proxy war , agitation technique and a campaign in misleading the stakeholders in order to get out of his commitment and contractual obligation.  Such contempt, disrespect to the people, flagrant disregard for the etiquette of the host country would have sent him on the first flight home if that happened in one of the Persians Gulf countries, however it seems that the Persians are way too accommodating for the “Khareji”.

 Omid Namazi 

Queiroz’s  list of his misdemeanors is as long as an airport runway and it is increasing by the day. His latest antics were the indiscriminate sacking of the Iranian personnel working in Team Melli. From Afshin Peyrovani, unashamed defenders of the Portuguese man who was living in denial to the mild mannered, dedicated and the professional Markar Aghajanian. Before them, Omid Namazi faced the same dilemma.

“At what price and humiliation level do you want to make to the World Cup?” These are the words of Ali Karimi who served under Queiroz for a few days as an assistant coach only to abruptly leave his post and was subsequently bombarded with hate messages and profanities from the same people who used to cheer him on the stands during his playing days, according to Karimi’s own words. But to his credit , Karimi  always maintained silence and never discussed the reason for leaving his Team Melli assistant coach job in such an abrupt manner. Karimi, rightly or wrongly feared instability in the Team Melli camp and to preserve national interest, he remained quiet.

“Now,  you can guess what happened in my case. I say no more, but I hope all those who questioned my loyalty to Team Melli realize where I stand and why I left.” Karimi clearly hinting at the treatment of Iranian assistant coaches are receiving from the Portuguese.

There is no doubt that Queiroz was lied to, promises of support never fulfilled, worked in a chaotic rather than a systematic environment, not paid his wages on time and most importantly lacked the resources to excel in his job, but he knew all of that during his first term and yet accepted an improved offer to continue working in Iran (although physically residing in Dubai and abroad most of the time) . His agreement to extend his contract beyond World Cup 2014 was done after a series of press statements bad mouthing Iran’s football and its administration!

Is it worth it? Is qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2018 worth all of the insults, abuses and cruelties that this Portuguese man is giving to the Iranians in their own country?

A proud nation with thousands of years of culture is being taken to the cleaners by one vindictive man who has an agenda and that is quite literally, anarchy. His vindictive tactics is more petulant than clever too. Using a Persepolis player in his squad to unsettle Branko Ivankovic’s team preparation is one such leverage he selected to take revenge for the Croat coach!!

 The nation that stood against virtually all the great powers and refused to bow to their pressure thus holding its head up high and being proud of it, is unable to deal with the antics of one foreign football coach. Pity those who think that Queiroz is the only man in the world that can take Iran to the World Cup 2018.

Ando Teymourian transfer to Esteghlal halted!

The former Team Mell Captain, whose transfer to Esteghlal Tehran club has been announced as void, is extremely upset by this turn of events. Esteghlal Club has been sanctioned by FIFA and is banned from any transfer activities until such time they settle a pay dispute with the German born Moroccan International Adil Chihi.  The 28 years old Moroccan made 6 appearances for Esteghlal in 2016 before leaving Tehran. The Player subsequently filed a claim with FIFA against the Tehran giant for non-payment of dues.

Despite various letters from FIFA asking Esteghlal for proof, there was only one response from Esteghlal and that was considered inadmissible. The club Chairman, without admitting any guilt or wrongdoing claimed that his club has fully paid the Moroccan but because of the international sanctions, the bank transfer of funds was not carried out!!!

FIFA issued the sanction by a letter submitted to FFIRI on 9th January 2017 banning Esteghlal from any transfer activities.

Andranik “Ando” Teymourian, who is hoping to revive his flagging career by joining the blues, is at a crossroad now. Due to the official signing & registration with Esteghlal, he is ineligible to play for another team or go back to his last club, Mchine Sazi . He is, for all intents and purposes, a victim of circumstances beyond his control. His chances of selection and playing for Team Melli seems to be at minimal with the current situation prevailing.

Unless the FIFA sanction is removed after Esteghlal settles the dispute including payment of fines and legal cost, neither Teymourian nor the Uzbek player Server Djeparov who like Ando signed for Esteghlal, can play competitive football.

In a related development, Mehdi Taj, the Head of FFIRI has said that the matter is being calmly resolved, while the chairman of Esteghlal , a civil servant appointed by the government and typical to the class of administrators running football in Iran for the past few decades, made an appeal to Mehdi Taj to negotiate a discount from FIFA …. Truly pathetic and comical act.

FIFA has also indicated that Esteghlal has a long history of violations and financial irregularities. In general, Iranian football is becoming quite notorious for payment delays to foreign players and coaching staff, partly because of banking restrictions due to sanction but mostly due to poor financial discipline of Iranian clubs federation. The mentality that they can bargain their way out of financial commitments is still rife and very much practised!

Queiroz "We will request to move Qatar match to Tabriz"

Team Melli head coach suggested that the first match against Qatar in the final rounds of FIFA World Cup 2018 should be moved to Tabriz'z Yadegar Imam  stadium because of friendlier atmosphere!

"I have asked Mr. Taj to move our match against Qatar to Tabriz because they treat us much better there."  Queiroz said in a statement to the press after the conclusion of the Team Melli practise session in Azadi this afternoon.  Iran has always played major Team Melli games in Tehran's Azadi Stadium. The last time a match was played in Tabriz was 16 years ago. A decision to move to Tabriz, would should surely antagonize Queiroz fans in Tehran. Queiroz did not mention how he figured out the friendlier atmosphere in Tabriz while he never experienced playing there with Team Melli.

Queiroz who is never far from controversy , hostility and a battles against his alleged enemies, also had some harsh words for the Manager of Azadi sport complex. He accused the person without naming him of being an enemy of Team Melli  and treating his squad with contempt.! 

It is believed that this idea of moving to Tabriz is more directed to the alleged bad treatment of the stadium  management rather than the fans sentiments.

Queiroz said that he will be taking 24 players to Macedonia for the friendly international in Skopje. The final list has not been produced yet pending health report and injury condition on couple of the players.

Queiroz also said that he will present a comprehensive report on the new Team Melli kit to Mehdi Taj , the head of IRIFF , however he declined to disclose any details. Team Melli has just changed its kit to a little known Italian kit supplier.

When confronted by a journalist about his broad and repetitive accusations, a defiant Queiroz admitted that but said "I know that I have been repeating the same things over and over again for a few years now, but as long as these people (...) are there and acting hostile , I will talk. No body can stop me from talking against them and exposing them!"

It is clear that no one seems to dare to stop the Portuguese from trash talking , and it is also clear that many are tired of his rhetorics, however , what really matters is how he will lead his team in the World Cup qualifiers. The competition is tough but Iran is well capable of making the trip to Russia if the Portuguese plays his cards right and not come up with the excuses such as Qatar and China are rich and investing!

 

Sepahan and the FFIRI clash over release of Ali Karimi

Sepahan Esfahan reacted sharply to the threats of sanction by the football federation FFIRI on the release of Ali Karimi the promising young forward to Team Melli U-23.

Ali Karimi is among the players selected by Nelo Vengada for the Olympics team which is currently in a training programs which includes several camps and international friendly matches. The next match will be in Jordan. With the start of the Persian Gulf Football league only days away , Sepahan Esfahan club opted not to release their forward for the camp as the team needed to focus on the league with several difficult matches ahead.

The release of the players to the national teams’ non- official competition, which is completely up to the judgment of the club, has apparently created a wave of discontent in the FFIRI. In an internal memo from Mehdi Taj to Ayottlahei , both discussed the possibility of a sanctions against Sepahan calling the club a repeat offender following its refusal to release the player for Team Melli fo the South Africa camp while it was still engaged in the AFC Champions League.

Sepahan released an official statement sharply criticizing the federation personnel for lack of understanding of the law. The statement said that it will deal with the matter when Sepahan Management receives and official correspondence from the FFIRI regarding this matter. Sepahan is preparing the team under the Croat coach Kranjcar.

It is not clear why the FFIRI is so blatantly acting ignorant on FIFA’s regulations that governs the release of players , a law that has been discussed umpteen times before Iran’s participation in the World Cup. It could very well be just bullying tactics by the FFIRI to intimidate clubs to release their players despite the commitment of these clubs to play in domestic and/or continental leagues. In both cases of the scenario,  it one conducts unbecoming from the very people who are supposed to uphold and abide by the rules.