Had criticism
©IMAGO
Iran has lost its first international match since the start of the war in the Middle East. The World Cup participant lost 1:2 (0:1) against Nigeria. The game, which was supposed to have taken place in Jordan, was moved to Antalya, Turkey at short notice and took place without spectators. The Iranian association had feared political protests from Iranians living in Turkey in the stadium.
However, the players themselves used the game for political symbolism. The Iranian professionals entered the field with school bags in hand. They were referring to a bomb attack on a girls’ school in southern Iran in which at least 168 students between the ages of seven and twelve, 26 teachers and four parents died at the end of February. According to media reports, US forces are said to be responsible for the attack.
“At the moment, the result, whether win or defeat, is not important. What is important is that the players show on the field that they are real Iranians and love their homeland,” said Mirshad Madschedi from the Iranian association on state broadcaster IRIB after the game. The game against Nigeria and the party on Tuesday against Costa Rica are actually planned as World Cup tests. Because of the war, it is still unclear whether Iran will take part in the World Cup in the summer.
Accusations against ex-Bayer professional Azmoun
Former Leverkusen professional Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Ghayedi were eliminated because of criticism and were not in the squad. Azmoun, who now plays for Shabab Al-Ahli in Dubai, would be the most valuable professional in the squad with a market value of 7 million euros. He is also the country’s second best goalscorer after Iranian legend Ali Daei – he scored 57 goals in 91 international matches. For Azmoun, the criticism also had consequences in his private life.
Property confiscated in Iran for alleged unpatriotic behavior, according to a report. The public prosecutor’s office in Golestan province in the northeast of the country is currently taking action against 16 suspected supporters of the USA and Israel in the war. According to the sports portal “Varzesh3”, among them is Azmoun, who comes from the region and who played at Bayer Leverkusen from 2022 to 2024. In addition to several properties there, he is said to own numerous horses and several riding stables. The 31-year-old was removed from the Iranian national team squad last week. According to media reports, the trigger was a photo on his Instagram page showing him with leading politicians in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The background to the decision is that the UAE has unintentionally become involved in the military conflict between Iran, the USA and Israel. Because there are US military bases there, Iran now classifies the Emirates as hostile. Accordingly, Azmoun’s photo was viewed as “treason against the fatherland”. “We don’t need players like that because love of country is above football,” said state broadcaster IRIB. Azmoun moved from Leverkusen to Dubai in 2024. In recent years he has repeatedly criticized the Islamic system in Iran. Observers therefore suspect that this criticism is the actual reason for the measures and that the photo merely serves as a pretext.
