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| Mohammad Reza Zonouzi |
The owner of the popular Tractor Club in Iranian Azerbaijan, Mohammad Reza Zonouzi, has stated that the Iranian Football Federation has prevented Tractor Club from winning the championship three times.
In an interview with Radio Javan, Zonuzi emphasized his opposition to the start of Super League matches and claimed that the individuals pushing for the matches to begin were the children of several officials who stood to benefit financially from the early start of the matches.
Previously, Zonuzi had alleged on Iranian television that there was organized corruption and discrimination in the country’s football.
"Teams are dependent, and when the managers of those teams speak out, they are immediately replaced. Let me tell you the truth. Clubs accept the teams’ expenses, but the profits go into the pockets of certain individuals. The children of some officials have opened companies under different names, but we know that these companies belong to the children of certain government officials, and this is how they make money,” Zonuzi said.
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| The Tractor Sazi football club was founded in 1970 in Tabriz, the largest city of Iranian Azerbaijan, in which the majority of Iran’s ethnic Turkish population is concentrated. |
Despite the coronavirus crisis, Zonuzi claimed that the children of Iranian officials were pushing for the start of Super League matches to benefit their companies. He pointed out that when the Iranian Football Federation canceled the league, there were 400 reported cases of the virus in the country, but now, according to official statistics, 3,000 new cases are being discovered daily, yet the federation wants to start the league immediately.
The Tractor team currently holds third place in the Iranian Super League. In response to the question, "If your team was in first place, would you still oppose starting the matches?" Zonuzi replied, “For us, the players' lives matter. The value of trophies with material worth does not mean anything to us and our fans. Three times, the championship trophy was taken from this team through various tricks and reasons. We and our fans have not forgotten this and will never forget it."
He emphasized that starting the matches in this situation would put the players' safety at risk.
Recently, news has spread about players from football teams in Tabriz testing positive for coronavirus. It was reported that four players from the Tractor team and six from the Machine Sazi team had tested positive.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Traktor klubunun sahibi: 3 dəfə çempionluğumuza mane olunub