Deals and Machinations on the Path to Baharestan and Seoul
It’s not fair for him to be attacked in this manner. He is currently considered Iran’s representative in the Asian Football Confederation and is a source of pride for the country’s football in international forums. These were the statements made some time ago by Mehdi Farvardin, the head of the Parliament’s Sports Faction, who, amidst the peak of attacks on Taj, asked his colleagues not to get involved in specialized football discussions. This is the same expertise that was referenced in the Instagram stories of some national team players on Friday.
National Team Players’ Protest
The story goes that on Friday afternoon, a group of experienced players from the Iranian national football team jointly posted a story on their personal Instagram pages. In this story, they initially addressed two members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, asking them not to interfere in football and to let football professionals make decisions for the sport. They further urged the members of the Football Federation’s assembly to be careful in their choices to both preserve the national team’s reputation in the World Cup and restore the lost credibility of the federation.
Parliament Members’ Interference in Football
Ehsan Hajsafi, Karim Ansarifard, and Alireza Jahanbakhsh, the first to third captains of the national team, along with other players such as Mehdi Taremi, Saeid Ezatolahi, Seyed Majid Hosseini, and Sardar Azmoun were the ones who posted this story. The two parliament members referred to were Mr. Qazizadeh Hashemi and Nasrollah Pejmanfar, who are firmly standing against Mehdi Taj’s eligibility. However, the core of the matter is that behind the scenes, the support of the head of the Sports Faction for Taj and the harsh stories of the players against the two revolutionary parliament members are promises that Taj has made to the Sports Faction and some of its members.
Taj, Skocic’s Nightmare
A knowledgeable source told Irangate that as soon as Taj is elected as the president of the sports federation, he will dismiss Skocic because many of the national team players do not accept him. However, the presidency of this controversial federation will be determined on September 8, and this month is also the last chance to announce the definitive head coach of the teams to FIFA. It is a critical month where we must wait and see whether Skocic will be dismissed or if he will move up to a higher class.