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Tehran, Iran – Three major Iranian teams have been banned from participating in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League and local authorities are already playing a game of guilt.
The AFC announced on Friday that the 2020 Persepolis finalist, two-time Asian champion Esteghlal and Gol Gohar Sirjan are unable to qualify for the 2022 tournament.
The body did not list specific reasons, but mentioned the licensing regulations that clubs did not comply with, such as issues such as the timely submission of required documents.
Esteghlal and Persepolis, two big and well-known clubs in Iran, had the opportunity to be disqualified for weeks, but local officials also did not specify the exact reasons.
But after the announcement on Friday, there was heated debate on state television when authorities tried to remove the blame.
Interim Persepolis CEO Majid Sadri said 98 per cent of the club’s documents were in the night’s program. Approved by AFC, something that left him wondering why he was disqualified.
In matters such as the ownership of the club and the debts he owed to former Argentine coach Gabriel Calderon, he left the responsibility to the former club leaders and the administration of former president Hassan Rouhani.
The Rouhani government pledged to privatize clubs more than three years ago and offer their shares in the capital market, a promise that has not yet come close to reality. President Ibrahim Raisi.
“And we also have a problem with friends from the AFC,” Sadr said on Friday. “They ask why we don’t pay our debts. We have sent them more than 40 letters saying that we have $ 3.4 million with them, that we will pay our debts as soon as the money is released. “
Zero responsibility
According to the official, the AFC is refusing to release Iranian money due to unilateral U.S. sanctions when it was imposed in 2018 by Donald Trump. He set aside Iran’s nuclear deal with world power.
Dariush Mostafavi, the head of qualifications for the Iranian Football Federation, said in a debate on Friday that the federation has no responsibility for the disaster.
Meanwhile, MP Ahmad Rastineh said parliament would conduct an examination to determine accountability, but linked the issue to “corruption and political infiltration”.
“Unfortunately, there are some local people whose survival depends on the concessions made to the strict political currents around the world, and these people are causing huge costs to Iranian sports,” he said without further ado.
The three clubs have 10 days to appeal their disqualification, but experts say they are unlikely to back down.
So Esteghlal and Persepolis will be replaced by Sepahan Isfahan and Foolad Khuzestan. Gol Gohar himself was being replaced when he was sent off.
The hustle and bustle of the future
Disqualifications could have repercussions on Iranian football. In addition to damaging credibility, football federations and clubs can face penalties.
On the other hand, Iran may still suffer serious repercussions from FIFA, the governing body of football refusing to allow women to enter stadiums.
The long-standing problem may come to a boil this month as Iran take on Iraq in the World Cup qualifiers. The country will also host the United Arab Emirates and South Korea in two other matches in February and March.
Friday’s disqualifications upset millions of club fans and players. Social media was filled with messages lamenting the ban and criticizing officials.
“I’m afraid I’ll talk again and get in trouble, but isn’t it a pity that Esteghlal and Persepolis can’t take part in these competitions while they have so much capital?” Mehdi Taremi, the star of the Iranian national team, tweeted.
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