Iran's top and popular football star, Ali
Karimi, is on the verge of dismissal from his club Persepolis Tehran after
voicing renewed criticism of the country's sports officials, local media
reported Saturday, dpa reported.
The former Bayern Munich midfielder was dismissed last year from the national
team after harshly criticizing the Iranian Football Federation (FFI) and
describing its current formation as the weakest in his ten-year spell in the
national team, bringing Iranian football backwards rather than forward.
On Saturday, Karimi renewed his criticism and said the management of football
clubs were in the hands of officials who knew nothing about football.
Karimi harshly attacked his club manager Anasari Fard and accused him of being
the man responsible for this season's miserable performance of Persepolis,
which is the most popular not only in the capital but also throughout Iran.
Iran's state television and other local media sources reported that Karimi
was dismissed for the time being from the club but a few minutes later
Perspolis denied the reports, reportedly to avoid total chaos.
"All over the world there is democracy and everybody can have freedom of
speech - but in Iran not even our managers have the least tolerance for any
criticism and all they are capable of is sorting out and dismissing
players," Karimi said after a league game in Tehran's Azadi stadium.
Last year's league champions Perespolis have had a disappointing season so far
and lie nine points behind arch-rivals Esteqlal Tehran.
In line with sports observers, Karimi also blames the poor performance on the
club's management's constant discussions on employing a new foreign coach for
replacing current local trainer Afshin Peyrovani.
He believes the discussions have affected the players as they do not know
whether they would continue working with the current or a new coach.
"I would like to see the professional curriculum vitae of the manager for
finding out whether he knows anything about football or not. I am really sorry
for any club in which Ansari Fard is manager of," Karimi said.
The two top Tehran clubs Persepolis and Esteqlal are under the control of the
state-run sports organization - affiliated to the presidential office - and
critics say that some club managers are imposed on the two teams for reasons
outside the sports framework.
The popular football programme 90 on the state TV has almost been banned for
criticizing the FFI and the sports organization and their inefficiency in
managing the football affairs.
Football fans last Monday however saved the programme by taking part in a text
message survey in which 97 per cent of the over two million voted in favour of
the programme and de facto against the FFI and the sports organization.
Karimi, once nicknamed as "Asia's Maradona," returned to Iran last September after six years abroad and joined Persepolis. He is however expected to leave Iran again following his harsh criticism of the local sports officials.
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