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| Founded in 1970 in Tabriz, Tractor Sazi FC has become a symbol of ethnic identity for many Turks in Azerbaijan and other Turkish-populated regions of Iran, gaining widespread support as it rose to the Iranian Super League. |
Abbas Ilyasi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tractor Club in Tabriz, sent a letter to Ali Asgari, Chairman of the Iranian Radio and Television Organization. The letter expresses protest against the discrimination and apartheid-like treatment against Tractor and its fans in television programs.
The full text of Abbas Ilyasi’s letter was published on the website of the semi-official Mehr news agency.
Ilyasi highlighted the “pan-Turkist” label imposed on the Tractor team and its fans, stating, “We are being accused of being pan-Turkist and separatists. The commentators and hosts of the television programs managed by your organization also support this kind of approach. Due to this ugly label, they expect us to renounce our rights.”
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| Abbas Ilyasi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tractor Club in Tabriz |
The head of Tractor also referred to the concept of “apartheid” against the team:
“The Iranian Radio and Television Organization should work to ensure unity among the country’s ethnic communities in all areas. However, in recent years, it seems that some hosts and commentators are not adhering to this principle and are harming the unity of ethnic communities. They are exploiting the national media in a biased manner. In the news sector, the concept of apartheid has dominated in favor of some teams.”
Abbas Ilyasi emphasized in his letter that the Turkish community, which obeys the law, does not deserve such “injustice.”
“Is there anyone more law-abiding than the Turks in our beloved country? The Turkish community has a relative majority compared to other ethnic communities in Iran. However, despite this, they have never opposed the Persian language. They have supported the country’s official language,” the letter states.
The chairman of Tractor’s Board of Directors also pointed out that the team has broken world records multiple times in terms of the number of fans:
“In the past two years, Tractor has broken world records multiple times in terms of the number of viewers for its matches, yet the team is not given the same attention as the capital teams on Iranian television. Doesn’t Tractor have 30 million supporters? Of course, it should be reminded that Tractor is the only team in Iran with international fans. Our country should benefit from Tractor’s capability as well.”
In addition to Azerbaijan, Tractor Club has a large number of fans in other regions of Iran and is considered a symbol of Turkish identity in the country. The club also has many fans in Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Tractor is presented in Turkish media as "the Turkish team with the most supporters in the world."
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Traktor klubundan İran televiziyasına etiraz - “Bizə pantürkist damğası vurmayın!”