Tehran - The sudden departure of Iran's top football star, Ali Karimi, from the training camp of the national team led Wednesday to renewed chaos in Iranian football.
The former Bayern Munich midfielder told the Fars news agency that he left the training camp in Ardebil in north-western Iran for Dubai after a disciplinary punishment against him for having harshly criticized the Iranian Football Federation (FFI).
Karimi had said in a television interview that the current FFI formation was the weakest in his ten-year presence in the national team and would bring Iran's football backwards rather than forward.
Following his remarks which were widely carried by the local sports press, the FFI disciplinary committee made a session to punish Iran's superstar. Details of the punishment have not yet been disclosed.
"I just gave a warning and do not revise what I said. I just hope that any disciplinary measures against me will help solve the problems in Iranian football," Karimi told Fars sarcastically.
Also football observers believe that the FFI has performed weakly since its election last January, especially regarding the appointment of the new head coach.
The FFI first reached an agreement with Portuguese Arthur Jorge but cancelled the deal, reportedly due to Jorge's lifestyle which was contradictory to the Islamic social criteria in Iran.
Next the FFI said that a German coach would be employed and raised names such as Peter Neururer, Lothar Matthaeus and even Cologne coach Christoph Daum.
But the FFI eventually decided to employ Javier Clemente and despite inking a contract with the Spaniard, the deal was annulled after Clemente refused to stay in Iran permanently.
Next was the promising Iranian-American coach Afshin Qotbi, who this season gained the premier league championship with the Tehran club Persepolis, and again the deal was finalized and just when Qotbi was saying goodbye to his club players, the FFI revised its decision and out of the blue appointed former skipper Ali Daei as head coach.
Even with Daei there have been problems again as the FFI, contrary to the regulations, allowed the former Bundesliga player to coach the national team as well as his club team Saipa Tehran in both the local and Asian champion league games.
Iran started its qualification games for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa with two disappointing draws against Syria and Kuwait. The next game will be against the United Arab Emirates next week in Tehran.
Besides Karimi also skipper Mehdi Mahdavikia from Eintracht Frankfurt and Bochum striker Vahid Hashemian will not play against the UAE. (dpa)
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