Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, June 22, 2015
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| Referee Faghani Shows Red Card to Tractor sazi Player Andranik Teymuryan |
Members of Parliament Demand an Explanation from the Iranian Football Federation
According to Iranian news agencies, the events that took place on May 15 at Tabriz Stadium, described as a "shameful incident unseen in the history of world football," are still on the agenda of the Iranian Islamic Consultative Assembly.
"The parliamentarians' sensitivity to the controversial Tractor Sazi-Neft match remains high. They are demanding explanations from officials of the Football Federation," said the semi-official Fars news agency, noting that Federation officials gave their testimonies at the Parliament on Sunday, June 21.
Media, football experts, several Members of Parliament, and Tractor Sazi club officials believe that during the Tractor-Neft match on May 15, false information was given to the Tractor Sazi club, questionable referee decisions were made, and the interruption of internet, TV, radio, and telephone communications at the stadium led to Tractor Sazi being unable to become champions.
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"Many of the questions posed by parliamentarians to the Federation officials were related to the questionable decisions of the referee, Alireza Faghani, during the match. These questions were answered by the head of the Federation's Referee Committee, Firudin Isfahaniyan," said Fars news agency.
The news agency did not provide details on the content of Isfahaniyan's statements or whether the parliamentarians accepted them.
"The Referee of the Tractor-Neft Match Acknowledges His Mistakes."
The internet newspaper Bank Varzesh reported that the head of the Referee Committee, present in Parliament, supported the referee of the Tractor-Sazi-Neft match, but also stated that the referee had made some mistakes during the match. "Faghani himself admitted his mistakes and apologized to the Tractor Sazi fans," the newspaper reported, citing Isfahaniyan's words.
Several Iranian Football Federation officials called to give a statement about the events at Tabriz Stadium did not attend the session in Parliament.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
İran parlamenti "Traxtor qalmaqalı"nın müzakirəsini davam etdirir