Tag: Persepolis

Iran football body slams AFC ban on hosting international matches

The Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) has said it would stand up to the "illegal" decision by the Asian Football Confederation AFC to prevent the country from hosting any international matches on Iranian soil.

Federation Acting Chief Heidar Baharvand said the federation and managers of the four teams playing in the AFC Champions League held an extraordinary meeting on Saturday and decided unanimously to reject the decision.

"The Iranian Football Federation, clubs and officials unitedly oppose it and will definitely stand up to this decision," said Bahrvand.

Baharvand told state television that if the ban was not reversed, all teams would withdraw from the AFC Champions League. Iran has four teams - Persepolis, Esteghlal, Sepahan and Shahr Khodro - in the AFC Champions League.

The federation on Friday said it had received a letter from the AFC saying all matches involving Iranian clubs would be held at a neutral venue.

The Iranians did not say if any reason was given or if the decision was related to the accidental downing of a Ukrainian jetliner last week and the tension between the United States and Iran in the wake of the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani.

Iran is reeling under a "maximum pressure" campaign by the US after President Donald Trump pulled his country out of a landmark nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.

AFC to meet on Sunday

A federation official on Friday said Iran's sports ministry had provided the required security guarantees to the AFC and pointed out that the country hosted the final of the 2018 edition at Tehran's Azadi Stadium.

The AFC's position is still reversible as the body's executive committee is scheduled to hold a session on Sunday to make a final decision.

"We must host matches because this is our people's right. We should not deprive our spectators in hosting games. This is our absolute right and we insist on it," Bahrvand said.

FFIRI spokesman Amir Mahdi Alavi was quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency as saying Iran is "fully ready to host various teams as it has repeatedly proven during the past several years".

Meanwhile, Persepolis club's chief executive director Mohammad Hassan Ansarifard said there is "no safer space in the Middle East and West Asia than Iran".

"It is the right of Iranian teams to benefit from the presence of their spectators," he said, according to the club's website.

Iran's men's football team has participated in 14 editions of the AFC Asian Cup, winning three titles since the country's first appearance in 1968.

The AFC ban has angered fans in Iran, where football is the most popular sport. Social media posts with the hashtag #ACLneedIranFans trended on Twitter.

The  AFC has not published the justifications behind this ban and if the proper mechanism has been activated to reach such a decision. Insiders claim that there has been pressure applied by the Arab countries to apply this ban lead by Kuwait, despite the fact that the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) chairman Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah intervened to side with Iran on this issue..

There is no UN Security Council declaration that Iran is indeed a war zone., while Saudi Arabia which is at war in Yemen and has been subjected to missiles and drone airstrikes one of which nearly destroyed the Abqiq Oil processing facility. (see below)

A photograph taken by the commercial satellite company Planet shows the Abqaiq facility shortly after an attack on Sept. 14.

Middle East Tensions Hurting Asian Soccer Ambitions

Steve Price

The Asian Football Confederation has reportedly banned Iran from hosting international matches based on safety fears over the current tensions in the region. Iranian club sides have responded by planning to withdraw from the AFC Asian Champions League. The clubs have said Iran is “safe”, while Iranian media and fans have claimed that politics, rather than security, is behind the AFC’s decision.

Iran are one of the top nations in the Asian Champions League and has some of the best-supported clubs in Asia. Iranian clubs had a poor campaign last year, but the year before that, Persepolis reached the final of the competition. They, along with Esteghlal, Sepahan and Shahr Khodro, will withdraw from the competition should the AFC’s fixture ban not be reversed.

Iranian sides played their matches against Saudi Arabian sides on neutral territory last season, so the move by the AFC isn’t completely unprecedented. But playing any games on neutral territory is damaging to the competition’s reputation. When over 40,000 people turn up in Tehran to watch Estaghlal or Persepolis, it’s a much better advert for the Asian Champions League than when a thousand fans turn up in Doha to watch Estaglal’s ‘home’ match against Al-Hilal.

The Deby in Azadi Stadium

The absence of Iranian clubs in the competition would be similar to Italian clubs deciding to boycott the UEFA Champions League. Few other Asian countries can match Iran’s top clubs in terms of fans. The Asian Champions League is struggling to grow, with low attendance and regular scandals or other embarrassments, so having one of its most important members boycott the competition is the last thing the AFC needs.

But as well as damaging Asia’s main club competition, the current tensions could also damage the United Arab Emirates’ and Qatar’s attempts to bolster their sporting credentials.

The UAE and Qatar have benefited in the past from their relative stability compared to other countries in the region, often hosting ties that can’t be played at the home country’s stadium for security reasons. If Iran is banned from hosting international matches, then it is possible that Iran’s ‘home’ games would be played in the UAE or Qatar.

 

But it seems the current tensions in the Middle East have finally caught up with Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, as other soccer teams are staying away.

The USA men’s soccer team canceled its camp in Doha earlier this month due to the “developing situation in the region”, holding it in Florida instead. And last week Manchester United scrapped plans for a training trip to the Middle East in February, while Arsenal have said they are assessing security measures before deciding whether to head to Dubai for warm weather training.

A stadium in Qatar with empty seats

Qatar and the UAE have been popular destinations for these winter training camps in the past few seasons, with many of Europe’s top clubs heading there for the warm weather and high-quality facilities. Qatar’s FA says that “time and again, these teams return to AZF [Aspire Zone Foundation] to benefit from Qatar’s perfect outdoor training weather at this time of year.” This year, Bayern Munich, Ajax and PSV Eindhoven all used the Aspire facilities, apart from Ajax’s US international Sergino Dest who said he “didn’t feel comfortable” due to the tensions.

While showcase events like the Qatar 2022 World Cup or the Club World Cup might grab the headlines, these camps have been like a dripping tap, helping to slowly establish the two countries as reliable regional soccer hubs. With the teams come media, agents, sponsors and so forth, over time making the countries a good place for related businesses to set up offices, helping the local tourism sector, and boosting these countries’ soft power.

The Qatar 2022 World Cup and other showcase events are unlikely to be affected unless things really escalate in the region, but should the security situation in the region remain tense, top European clubs might decide to switch their future winter plans to Florida or to Spain and Portugal where many other clubs from around the world hold their winter training camps, putting a major dent in Qatar and the UAE’s aspirations to boost their global standing through sports.

Transfer Rumours: Mehdi Taremi to FC Porto!

According to José Fernandes a journalist at the newspaper OGogo, Mehdi Taremi and FC Porto have already signed a pre-agreement for Rio Ave forward to join FC Porto.

Mehdi Taremi is Al-Gharafa player loaned to Rio Ave. The transfer is imminent according to the journalist but highly dependent on whether Tiquinho Soares's deal with AS Roma is finalized.

Taremi has been in an excellent form season with the middle of the table Rio Ave in the Portuguese League. The 27 Years old former Persepolis and IranJavan Busheher player has scored 8 goals this season, 5 goals in the league and 3 in the cup competition.  This is despite an injury he suffered earlier in the season which placed him on the injury list for a few weeks. Taremi has been a regular starter for Rio Ave and registered several assists on top of his goals.

Porto's interest in Mehdi Taremi is significant as they are one of the top teams in Portugal. They have been dominating the Portuguese football along with Benfica. Porto has won the league 28 times with season 2017/18 being the last. PC Porto won the UEFA Champions League twice in 1986/87 and 2003/04 seasons. They also won the UEFA Cup twice and the UEFA Super Cup once in 1987. The club has a strong European pedigree. The other Portuguese icon, Benfica is currently leading the table with 45 points while FC Porto is second on 41 with 16 games played.  FC Porto head coach is Sérgio Conceição

The transfer of Taremi to FC Porto required the agreement of the Qatari club Al-Gharafa.

Another turtle pace progress in Privatization.

For the last two decades, subsequent governments in Iran have promised that Persepolis and Esteghlal clubs will be privatized and handed over to the private sector.

The Privatization saga first started in the tenure of President Mohammed Khatami, however, he left without much progress on the issue. The next President, Ahmadinejad, a passionate football fan, was the most enthusiastic supporter of this project and many thought Persepolis and Esteghlal will finally escape from total government control and be run as a proper and professional sports club.

Ahmadinejad, left and like many of his projects, the clubs privatization never saw the light of the day.  Hassan Rouhani, seen by many as a pragmatic and relatively liberal president took over. Like his predecessor, Rouhani was a strong football supporter who also liked to see the two most popular clubs privatized.

 So far, what culminated from the government’s Privatization project is nothing but false promises and heartaches for the fans.  Every now and then, the Ministry of youth and sports pops up with statements, further plans and more promises to keep the fans quiet. The timing that the authorities pick to talk about its Privatization project and normally coincides with periods of public discontent with the government and economy in Iran. Recently, Iran has experienced deadly countrywide protests against the authorities for huge increases in fuel prices.

The latest promise in this saga is the recent Youth and Sports statement of the transfer of the two stadiums (basically, training facilities) in Darfeshifar and Marghoubkar and their registration in the name of the two clubs Esteghlal and Persepolis.

ISNA quoting the Deputy Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, Taghizadeh, said “this transfer has been the most effective privatization steps during this recent years,” He also added "Persepolis Club has carried out brand registration operations for forty-five brands  with Corporate Registration Bureau and we are looking forward to the same step to be taken by Esteghlal"

“ So far we have held nineteen meetings with the managers of the Privatization Organization and Stock Exchange for the transfer of the two stadiums and the brand registration of Esteghlal and Persepolis clubs as assets. It has been the most effective privatization steps during this period. “

Taghizadeh said at the end: "The trademark registration is one of the most important programs of Privatization to the concerned organizations and so far Persepolis Club has successfully carried out brand registration operations."

Iran’s bi-polar football where everything starts and ends with the two famous Tehran clubs. Persepolis and Esteghlal have been siphoning millions of dollars from government budgets since the revolution. The regime, being careful of the political sensitivity and the popularity of these two clubs hence their clear influence on the masses, have turned blind eyes on the amount of chronic corruption and mismanagement existing in these two clubs by executives and managers who are sanctioned and appointed by the government itself.

Taj and Wilmots to meet for termination of the contract.

After a lot of speculations and what looked like a covert operation, the FFIRI seems to have reached the decision to terminate the contract of the current head coach of Team Melli, Marc Wilmots.

The president of the Iranian Football Association FFIRI Mehdi Taj who attended the AFC awards ceremony, has left Hong Kong to arrange a meeting with Marc Wilmots or his lawyers in Istanbul with the objective of terminating the Belgian coach contract on mutual consent. It is believed that the groundworks for such termination has been completed and the meeting will be a formality to end what was a bitter and dark period of Team Melli history under the ineffectual Wilmots.

This would be Wilomts third successive sacking from his post after he was dismissed by his country's federation in June 2016, and then came his short tenure with Ivory Coast, where he left his job  in November 2017 "by mutual agreement" where he had only been in the role six months, but paid the price for his failure to guide the Elephants to a fourth successive World Cup 2018.

With Iran , Team Melli is in serious risk of elimination from the World Cup with two successive defeats in the group qualifications rounds. It seems that the World Cup is Marc Wilmots', Achilles Heel.

Branko Ivankovic is the leading candidate as successor , however there is still a major financial settlement that needs to be sorted out by Persepolis club before the Croat will agree to return back to Iran.  The president of that club has admitted that their former coach (Branko Ivankovic) is negotiating with the Iranian Football Association to become the national team coach after Ivankovic emphatically turned down Persepolis club offer to return to his old job.

Ivankovic is still very bitter with Persepolis club specifically his last few months with the club, not just because the club failed to respect the contract and held his wages for several months, but because of all the troubles and the turmoil that was created in the team led by a few players to undermine his authority and hinder his job.

Although Branko, as he is popularly known in Iran amongst the fans, has not signed up yet, it is believed that if FFIRI can guarantee regular payment of his wages, Ivankovic will sign to lead Team Melli for his third time.

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Ivankovic's pre-condition to coach Team Melli.

Branko Ivankovic is claiming 960,000 Euro arrears from Persepolis Club.

While the Croat coach is negotiating the possibility of coaching Team Melli with FFIRI and has met with the Iranian Ambassador in Croatia regarding this matter, he insists on settling the accounts with the Iranian Champions. The former Persepolis and Team Melli coach has given two conditions to the Iranian authorities, one of which is the financial settlement, while the other is the settlement of the contract with current coach Wimots before he can officially negotiates terms & conditions to coach Team Melli. It is an unwritten law between coaches that negotiating a job will not be carried out unless the post is vacant, which is not the case with Team Melli as Wilmots is still in charge, although remotely.

Meanwhile, Perspolis has acknowledged the receipt of an official letter from FIFA legal department reference Ivankovic's claim and ordered to pay the full amount to their former Croatian coach. Failure to pay would result in sanctions on Persepolis and interest accumulation on the amount until it is fully paid.

Meanwhile, in true tradition Persepolis club on the receipt of the warning from FIFA, is seeking a discount from Branko Ivankovic! Persepolis must have thought to pull a quick one by taking advantage of Black Friday!

FFIRI has remained tight-lipped on the negotiations with Ivankovic and the contract with Marc Wilmots, whose future with Team Melli seems to be doubtful after the poor results that threaten Iran's qualification for the FIFA Wolrd Cup 2022.

Kanaani-Zadegan, dismisses all rumors of a rift between players and Wilmots.

The Team Melli central defender dismissed talks of a dispute between players and Belgian coach Marc Wilmots as malicious rumours.

Mohammad Hossein Kanaani-Zadegan, was quoted saying that "The players and the coaching staff in Team Melli had a good working realtionship and mutual respect, anything beyond that is just malicious"

"Unfortunately, these talks have been spreading on social media. We respect Wilmots, and any talk or insinuation that the players in Team Melli were against Wilmots, is baseless rumours." When Kanaani-Zadegan was quizzed about Branko Ivankovic impending arrival, he responded "I am unaware of his presence and I just heard it from you" The Persepolis defender said.

About the issue of Masoud Shojaei ,  Kanaani-Zadegan said "It has been mentioned that Shojeai has announced his retirement from Team Melli after the defeat against Iraq but the rest of the Team Melli players unanimously objected to that!  I assure you that this so-called announcement has never happened in the dressing room, and we are not unaware of any such plan".

In respect to the other reports that Wilmots' training style was not to the liking of the players "I don't know where these rumours come from; Wilmots is a great coach, we've conducted the training that he planned for us too " Kanaani said.

"there were some reporters present when we were at the training ground and they have witnessed how both we and Wilmots worked so hard for Team Melli's success."

Asked if the team only practised for two days before meeting Iraq? He said: "Again, this is not true, we did a few days of good and high-intensity training and I do not accept such statements that we only practised for two days. " When he was asked to comment on reports that some Team Melli players called or have contacted Branko Ivankovic when they heard he is taking over Wilmots' post, the former Machine-Sazi defender said, "I am unaware of this, it is best to discuss this with players who have called Branko."

To put the records straight, Team Melli full contingent that includes the Legionnaires practised two days only before the match with Iraq. The rest of the training that Kanaani is probably referring too, was the training sessions for the domestic players only conducted by Hashemianm which is not considered as a full Team Training where gameplans, tactics and other stuff is discussed by the Head Coach.

Also, it has to be noted that reporters are only allowed 15 minutes from the start of training practice and then they asked to leave the pitch. It is not feasible to measure anything of worth in such a short time for reporters and observers.

Branko Ivankovic : " No intention to coach Team Melli"

Former  Team Melli and Persepolis coach Branko Ivankovic says he has no intention of coaching Iran national football team.

Ivankovic led Persepolis to the Iranian domestic treble last season but left after they failed to pay him his salary, a common practice in Iran in the last few years.

The 65-year-old coach, considered as one of the best foreign coaches of Team Melli, won the gold medal in 2002 Asian Games and led Team Melli to third place in 2004 AFC Asian Cup.

The Croat coached Iran at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where the Team Melli failed to qualify for the next stage after losing to Mexico and Portugal. while drawing with Angola.

“At the moment, I have a lot of offers from Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Japan and China but have not accepted them so far. In Al Ahli, I was fired after three matches, something I never experienced such a thing before. I believe I worked well for the team as it needed some changes in dressing room but this is football and I accept it,” Ivankovic said.

Asked why he left Persepolis at the end of the last season, Ivankovic said, “I had four fascinating years in Iran and I so much miss the country. However, I was forced to leave Persepolis because they didn’t pay our salaries for about one year. At that time, Al Ahli gave me a good offer and I accepted it,” he added.

Persepolis have lost three times in the last 10 matches but Ivankovic says they are favourites to win the title for the fourth time in a row.

“I think Gabriel Calderon needs time in Persepolis because he is a great coach. Persepolis fans love their team and support their players and coaches. In my opinion, Persepolis and Sepahan are vying for the title in the current season,” Ivankovic stated.

Ivankovic believes that Team Melli had a chance to qualify for the next round at the FIFA 2018 World Cup.

“I think (Carlos) Queiroz preferred to defend in Russia. Iran could have played attacking football against Portugal and Span. After beating Morocco, Team Melli should have taken risks,” said Ivankovic .

"Is there any chance to return to Team Melli if he receives an offer?"

“I would prefer to work at club level. I am not going work as a national team head coach,” Ivankovic concluded.

Payam Sadeghian slapped with a career ending ban.

The former Persepolis and Team Melli midfielder has been banned from all football activities for 15 years.

Payam Sadeghian, the 27 years old player was considered as one of the best talents in Iranian football with a bright future when he emerged in Iran age groups team. His natural talent and skills were marred by equally destructive behaviour, controversy and indiscipline.

 According to the Mehr News reporter, Sadeghian was sentenced to this extremely long ban as a result of the establishment and operation of betting agencies in the field of football. According to the ruling by the disciplinary committee of the FFIRI, the former midfielder , who was born in Tabriz, is not allowed to attend any football matches in any capacity (even as a spectator) during his ban.

Sadeghian started his professional career in Zob Ahan before moving to Persepolis, then Naft Tehran, Saba Qom, Machinesazi, Turkish club Osmanlispor and now playing with Sepidrood Rasht.

Sadeghian is one of the very few Iranian players that have represented Team Melli in every age group, U14, U17, U20 , U23 (Omid) and also played 5 matches for Team Melli.

Payam Niazmand approaching a record.

Two seasons ago, the 17th season of the Persian Gulf Premier League, Esteghlal Goalkeeper Seyed Hossein Hosseini reached a milestone with his club by keeping a clean sheet fo 872 minutes., the longest any goalkeeper has managed in the history of the league competition. This season, the 19th edition, Payam Niazmand (Sepahan Esfahan) and Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri's (Tractorsazi Tabriz) are rapidly challenging that record by their excellent performances for their clubs. The two Team Melli goalkeepers are in close competition with each other to break that record and also for the title of the best goalkeeper of the season. The two goalkeepers have kept their doors closed for 630 minutes (7 consecutive matches) minutes this season, however, Niazmand also kept a clean sheet from last season final game, while he kept 80 minutes from the previous match so his tally of clean sheet stands at 802 minutes. in order to break Seyed Hossein Hosseini's record, the 24 years old Niazmand needs to keep one more clean sheet for more than 70 minutes of the next match against Saipa at home. On the other hand, while Naizmand and Mazaheri have been exceptionally good this season in the league, the regular Team Melli custodian, Alireza Beiranvand has not been so fortunate as his rivals. Beiranvand has conceded 5 goals and his team Persepolis has dropped to the 5th position. The goalkeeper who was instantly a hit after saving Cristiano Ronaldo's spot-kick and a penalty against Cambodia failed to repeat the same against Bahrain.

Persian Gulf Pro League Table & Standings

Pos Team P W D L F A +/- PTS Form
1 Sepahan Sepahan 7 5 2 0 10 0 +10 17 W W W D D
2 Tractor Sazi Tractor 7 5 2 0 8 0 +8 17 W W W W D
3 Shahr Khodrou Shahr Khodrou 7 5 1 1 8 3 +5 16 W W D L W
4 Foolad Foolad 7 3 3 1 6 4 +2 12 W W D W D
5 Sanat Naft Sanat Naft 7 3 3 1 5 3 +2 12 D W W D L
6 Persepolis Persepolis 7 4 0 3 5 5 0 12 W L L W W
7 Naft Masjed Soleyman Naft MIS 7 2 5 0 7 5 +2 11 W W D D D
8 Esteghlal Esteghlal 7 2 3 2 10 7 +3 9 W W D L D
9 Nassaji Mazandaran Nassaji 7 2 3 2 12 14 -2 9 L D D W L
10 Pars Jam Bushehr Pars Jam 7 1 4 2 6 7 -1 7 D L D W D
11 Machine Sazi Machine Sazi 7 2 1 4 9 13 -4 7 L D W L L
12 Saipa Saipa 7 2 1 4 9 14 -5 7 L L L L W
13 Paykan Paykan 7 1 2 4 13 14 -1 5 L L D W D
14 Zob Ahan Zob Ahan 7 0 4 3 5 9 -4 4 L L D D D
15 Gol Gohar Gol Gohar 7 0 3 4 3 8 -5 3 L L L L D
16 Shahin Bushehr Shahin 7 0 1 6 4 14 -10 1 L L L L D
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