TM-News-Vol. 7

[Kiarash]

That Hatam Shiralizadeh guy is not a reliable source at all. As much I hope this happens, he can't just say CQ is returning without backing it up with a credible source. Just playing with our feelings at this point...

[Keshwardoost]

That Hatam Shiralizadeh guy is not a reliable source at all. As much I hope this happens, he can't just say CQ is returning without backing it up with a credible source. Just playing with our feelings at this point...

Maybe Im going a bit oftopic here but..

I googled his name and found this recent article.

the article mentions


"Britain also delayed and eventually refused the visa of Mashkat Zahra Safi, an 18-year-old Iranian tennis sensation, earlier this month, denying her the opportunity to become the first tennis player from Iran to participate in the junior Wimbledon tournament."

thats realy shitty to do that to kid tennisplayer..

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20...ranian-sports/

Iran: Sanctions wreaking havoc with Iranian sports

July 28, 2022 at 10:58 pm | Published in: Article, Iran, Middle East, Opinion

Nearly a month after then-US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the landmark Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, the world's largest footwear company, Nike, also severed its ties with Iran's football team.

The US-headquartered company, at the time, said the sanctions meant it could not provide cleats to players on Iran's national football team, which came days before the team's participation in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Although the company insisted the decision was not linked to politics, it did provide cleats to 60 per cent of all players in the 32-team World Cup.

Like any other sector, sports in Iran has also, directly or indirectly, faced the heat of US sanctions, undermining the functioning of local sports federations, affecting the performances of players and, in some cases, destroying the careers of young and promising athletes.

Hatam Shiralizadeh, a prominent Iranian sports journalist and commentator, said the bogey of sanctions, started soon after the 1979 revolution, has for the past 43 years "severely affected" international sports in Iran, "particularly in the last decade".

"A cursory look at how sanctions have impacted Iran's sports – we cannot buy sports equipment, we cannot register for international sports events, and international sponsors remain reluctant to cooperate with Iranian sports," he told Anadolu Agency.

READ: Iran, UAE discuss upgrading ties ahead of possible envoy return

Shiralizadeh hastened to add that the US, Canada, and some European countries have often "created hurdles" by not issuing visas to Iranian athletes and officials, and national sports bodies have faced problems in paying salaries to foreign players and coaches.

Pertinently, in 2020, Iranian football faced what many dubbed its "biggest scandal", which was sparked by a controversy over the non-payment of dues to a former Belgian coach of the national team, Mark Wilmots.

After Wilmots' formal complaint to FIFA, the governing body of world football, Iran's judicial authorities intervened to resolve the crisis, much to the chagrin of fans.

Sanctions and sports
Iran has reeled under US sanctions since the breakdown of diplomatic relations between the two countries in the aftermath of the US Embassy takeover in Tehran in November 1979, nine months after the revolution.

While the impact of US sanctions on Iran's economy, in general, has been widely documented, the overarching impact on sports, in particular, is often overlooked.

Erfan Hoseiny, a young sports enthusiast and writer who mostly covers Iranian and Asian football, agrees that sanctions have affected Iranian sports, "particularly football".

"Iranian clubs that participate in international competitions (AFC Champions League) are unable to receive their prize money," he told Anadolu Agency, adding that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) owes Esteghlal FC and Persepolis FC, Iran's two leading football clubs, "millions of dollars".

READ: Iran to start accepting Russian Mir payment cards soon – Official

Hoseiny added that it "makes it hard" for Iranian clubs to pay the wages of foreign players and managers.

In 2019, Andrea Stramaccioni, who previously coached top clubs like Inter Milan, was forced to quit as the head coach of Esteghlal FC over non-payment of his salary. His two-year contract with the club amounted to around €1.6 million ($1.62 million), which could not be paid due to banking restrictions.

Masoud Hossein, a senior sports journalist with Tehran Times, said sanctions is a "political term" that implies one must be "aware of the impact of political decisions on sports."

He noted that Iranian teams and athletes have been "severely harmed" due to sanctions over the past several years, which has had "a huge impact" on the country's economy, in particular the sports sector.

"Many athletes have failed to procure sports equipment because of sanctions and also failed to arrange training camps abroad," Hossein told Anadolu Agency.

READ: EU suggests draft text to revive Iran nuclear deal

Kat Khosrowyar, the former head coach of Iran's U-19 women's football team, said sanctions have impacted Iranian sports by "barring international sponsors from signing deals with teams and athletes", as well as "barring major European clubs from entering youth academy projects in Iran."

The national federation faced difficulty in paying salaries to foreign coaches since they have foreign bank accounts, which causes legal complications, Khosrowyar told Anadolu Agency.

"As for Iranian athletes, obtaining a UK/US visa is a struggle. Even European players who have travelled and played in Iran are denied visas and have to do an interview before entering the US."

Denial of visas to athletes
In recent months, many Iranian athletes have been denied visas to participate in international competitions, mainly in the US and the UK.

Iran's wrestling team was scheduled to square off with the US wrestling team in Arlington, Texas, on 12 February, but the tour was scrapped after six members of the delegation, including head coach, Alireza Dabir, were denied visas.

Similarly, Iran's national track and field athletes were slated to take part in the world championships in Oregon, US, in July, but they were denied visas at the last minute. It came days after Iran's karate team faced a similar rejection from the US.

Britain also delayed and eventually refused the visa of Mashkat Zahra Safi, an 18-year-old Iranian tennis sensation, earlier this month, denying her the opportunity to become the first tennis player from Iran to participate in the junior Wimbledon tournament.

"In my opinion, politics should be kept out of sports. We need to separate the two. Political issues between the governments have nothing to do with athletes," said Hossein, who has covered Iranian sports for many years.

"The United States is just "abusing" the power of sanctions to disqualify its enemy from global competitions," remarked Hoseiny, adding that it is the athletes, not the governments, who end up losing.

Mark Lomas, BBC Sports editor and long time observer of Iranian sports, noted that "despite the best efforts of governing bodies like FIFA and the IOC," sports and politics are "closely intertwined".

"Sport is a great unifier, but also a great divider – and politicians have become adept at utilising it to both persuade and to provoke," he told Anadolu Agency.

"Sadly those caught in the middle are often athletes whose chief desire is to compete and who often are – like so many citizens of the world – actually pretty apathetic towards their political leaders."

(Source: Anadolu News Agency)

[pajamNL]

Hatam Shiralizadeh also says (in replies to his own tweet) ;

It is what I heard from reliable sources. If Mehdi Taj can win in the upcoming election, we can say CQ will be our coach in the World Cup, however it depends on different factors.

and

We have to wait and see whether Mehdi Taj will take a risk and change the coach three months before the World Cup!
The other factors are: the pressure from the Sports Ministry and maybe government...

[CBT]

That is not going to happen. Dragan Skocic will be our headcoach for the World Cup and you guys better accept it. Changing the Coach right before the World Cup will be a disaster just like in 1998. He qualified us and he deserves to lead us. With a bit of luck we can manage to pull decent results.

I agree, I also don't think CQ will come back, unfortunately!!

However, I don't really agree with this line of reasoning that some have adopted, just because he was the coach during the qualifiers doesn't automatically grant him the right to be at the helm during the World Cup. With all the quality he had at his disposal it wasn't really that difficult to get qualified, and even then, Iran had some real horrendous games (S. Korea home/away, Libanon away...), and lacked tactical maturity throughout, it was basically throwing the ball towards Taremi, Azmoun and AJB.

The contrast of playing S. Korea in tehran under supervision of CQ vs. Skocic was just shocking. During CQ, S. Korea players were really desperate to leave Tehran asap, his game plan and atmosphere in the Azadi had truly destroyed them both physically and mentally.

Let's be honest, we now even have coaches in the fu**ing IPL that are more decorated and experienced at the international level than him (Morais, Sa Pinto, Berdeyev). So, out with this guy, and install either QC or Nekounam for the World Cup, cause they know this team very well. If performances are satisfactory extend contract till Asian Cup + WC 2026, if not look for a top notch foreign coach with a long term plan.

[diz]

Hatam Shiralizadeh also says (in replies to his own tweet) ;
It is what I heard from reliable sources. If Mehdi Taj can win in the upcoming election, we can say CQ will be our coach in the World Cup, however it depends on different factors.
and
We have to wait and see whether Mehdi Taj will take a risk and change the coach three months before the World Cup!
The other factors are: the pressure from the Sports Ministry and maybe government...

"So you're telling me there's a chance?"

[Hosseini]

The fact that we have more internationally experienced and high caliber coaches in the PGPL, who coached Juventus and Chelsea, won two K-league titles, coached top flight clubs in Portugal, Russia and more compared to our national team coach is truly a disgrace

[Leicester City]

Hatam Shiralizadeh also says (in replies to his own tweet) ;

It is what I heard from reliable sources. If Mehdi Taj can win in the upcoming election, we can say CQ will be our coach in the World Cup, however it depends on different factors.

and

We have to wait and see whether Mehdi Taj will take a risk and change the coach three months before the World Cup!
The other factors are: the pressure from the Sports Ministry and maybe government...

Okay.

[MR.ESTESNAII]

A coach that refuses an extra friendly and still goes and watches random IPL games 3 months before World Cup is a Moron…unfortunately using your Brain is very limited in Iran and donkey meat as increased …

[O-ZoNe]

The fact that we have more internationally experienced and high caliber coaches in the PGPL, who coached Juventus and Chelsea, won two K-league titles, coached top flight clubs in Portugal, Russia and more compared to our national team coach is truly a disgrace

I guess the disgrace extends to England, USA, Spain and Italy too... This is true of every league and nation in the world that has any footballing pedigree...

Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

[Ari]

A coach that refuses an extra friendly and still goes and watches random IPL games 3 months before World Cup is a Moron…unfortunately using your Brain is very limited in Iran and donkey meat as increased …

But dude! It's Dragan Skocic, who qualified us for the world cup against teams like Iraq and Syria. And don't forget: We are going to play a game vs IPL Allstars! Just quality my friend, just quality!

[Mahsaa]

After we get destroyed in the friendlies next month if they even take place....the end of Skocic will again be on the table, or do you think we will have a respected performance against Senegal and Uruguay ?

[koorosh]

Funny thing is Indian football fans are very pissed as their Supreme Court was going to remove very corrupt federation officials. Fifa saw this as interference. The corrupt officials are now safe.

If there is a case for corruption, the state needs to bring formal charges against the official. When officially convicted, then the official may be removed. Even formal charges may be enough to evict an official from their position in the eyes of Fifa, as was the case with Platini and Blatter.

In India's case, in fact Fifa agreed with India's supreme Court in removing the federation officials and election plans. So Fifa had no beef with the judiciary ordering removal of federation officials.. It was only when the care-taker committee deviated from the plan and broke Fifa rules that Fifa banned the federation.

You can read the story here:

https://www.business-standard.com/ar...1701003_1.html


Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

[Keshwardoost]

After we get destroyed in the friendlies next month if they even take place....the end of Skocic will again be on the table, or do you think we will have a respected performance against Senegal and Uruguay ?

I believe CQ will lead us vs Senegal or Uruguay. we will have two halfshitty games but that will lead us to a good performance in wc, playing a 1-0/0-0/0-1
game vs england, winning 2-0 vs wales, and trashing usa with 3-0

[St_Mark]

Tomorrow, Skocic and Rendulic will travel to Turkey. In Istanbul, they'll watch the match between Istanbul Başakşehir and Kayserispor as well as Majid Hosseini and Ali Karimi's performances.

در این هفته اعضای کادر فنی تیم ملی مسابقه استقلال مقابل مس کرمان را در ورزشگاه آزادی تماشا می کنند، روز جمعه وحید هاشمیان و علی قربانعلی پور تماشاگر دیدار گل گهر و سپاهان خواهند بود و ملادن زانجر و کرونوسلاو رندولیچ بازی آلومینیوم مقابل پرسپولیس را از نزدیک زیر نظر می گیرند.

اسکوچیچ سرمربی تیم ملی نیز به همراه ماریو تات به تماشای بازی فولاد خوزستان مقابل تراکتور می نشیند.

همچنین اسکوچیچ به همراه کرونوسلاو رندولیچ فردا راهی ترکیه خواهد شد و در استانبول بازی باشاک شهیر - کایزری اسپور و عملکرد مجید حسینی و علی کریمی را زیر نظر می گیرد.

[Keshwardoost]

But dude! It's Dragan Skocic, who qualified us for the world cup against teams like Iraq and Syria. And don't forget: We are going to play a game vs IPL Allstars! Just quality my friend, just quality!

lol

Skocic: If iff doesnt find friendlies i will i have contacts..

Iff: I call your bluff, sits back and does nothing

Result: game vs ipl allstars or u21