Former Iran captain Mehdi Mahdavikia has come under fire for wearing a shirt with a small Israeli flag on it during a friendly match, according to reports.
FIFA, football’s international governing organisation, organised the match.
According to reports, Mahdavikia will face repercussions, including the loss of his job as coach of Iran’s under-23 national team.
On the eve of the Arab Cup final, Mahdavikia, 44, took part in a match in Doha on Dec. 17.
Iran’s football organisation backed former national team captain Mehdi Mahdavikia on Wednesday after he was chastised for wearing an Israeli flag shirt during a friendly match.
Arab Legends and World Legends teams competed in the FIFA-organized game. All of the players, including Israel, wore shirts with tiny flags of all FIFA members.
In a statement on the federation’s website, secretary-general Hassan Kamranifar said, “he is one of the greatest Iranian footballer” and “a symbol of pride for the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
But the ultraconservative MPs slammed the experienced player.
Mahdavikia “must apologise to the Iranian people for his act and must stand trial because he has betrayed the Iranian nation”, MP Bijan Nobaveh-Vatan said, according to the ultraconservative Fars news agency. Iran does not recognise Israel as a state.
#Iran's football federation threw its weight behind former national team captain #MehdiMahdavikia Wednesday after he faced criticism for wearing a jersey bearing an #Israeli flag during a friendly game.
— Sonny Side of Sports (@VOASonnySports) December 29, 2021
Read the full story here: https://t.co/6IFK6hr4AK #Iran #Israel
Mahdavikia, according to reports in the Islamic Republic, has broken sports policy guidelines, which include athletes from Iran not competing against those from Israel.
Former teammates, sports journalists, and others have all disregarded the allegations. They pointed out that the match was a cultural event, not an official one, and that Mahdavikia, after all, needed a shirt to play.
Mahdavikia played club football in Germany for Bochum, SV Hamburg, and Eintracht Frankfurt, earning 111 Iran caps. In the past, he was a coach in the Hamburg academy and junior Iran teams.
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