Tehran

Mohammad Reza Molla Mohammad , the Cultural administrator of Iran’s football federation (FFIRI) has regretted the action of some delinquent juveniles who posted derogatory remarks on Lionel Messi’s facebook page.

In the aftermath of the FIFA World Cup draw 2014 carried on Friday, Iran was drawn in the same group as Argentina, which prompted some of the less educated so-called Iran fans to post some childish nonsense which has nothing to do with football.

Molla Mohammad said that the Football federation puts a lot of emphasis on sportsmanship plus civilized and courteous behavior reflecting the culture of the proud nation. “

In a statement published in FFIRI website in Farsi , Molla Mohammad  said “As a country , we have certain cultural , social and religious values that we stick by and form the pillar of our society. We have lots of respect to all our opponents in the World Cup , and while we appreciate and understand rivalry and competition , we condemn such insulting behaviour by some fans against one of the greatest football players in the world. “

“Lionel Messi is a phenomenon and we are proud that we will play against him and his team in the World Cup. What has been said by some fans has nothing to do with Iran and Iranians. Messi has our respect and our admiration.”