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| The President of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj |
The President of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, has apologized to the "Tractor" club for the "mistakes" that prevented the team from becoming the champion during the final match of the Iranian football championship in May 2015.
May 15, 2015, is an unforgettable day for the fans of Tabriz's "Tractor Azerbaijan" team, which was then called "Tractor sazi," and for those who referred to it as "Black Friday."
Iranian news agencies reported that "strange events" occurred in the final minutes of the Iranian football championship match on that date, and that "Tractor" was misinformed.
In that year, the final round match between the leader of the tournament standings, "Tractor," and Tehran's "Naft" club ended in a 3-3 draw. Due to the misinformation given in the final moments of the match, the Tabriz team believed they were champions and tried to simply preserve the result. The false information was related to the result of the match between "Saipa" and "Sepahan," which was being played at the same time. "Sepahan," which defeated "Saipa" 2-0, became the Iranian champion. However, federation officials had informed the "Tractor" coaches that the "Sepahan-Saipa" match had ended in a draw, leading the coaches to believe that "Tractor" had won the championship. On that day, the internet and phone networks were cut off at the stadium where the "Tractor-Naft" match was held. Additionally, after watching the match videos, it was revealed that the referee made incorrect decisions against the "Tractor" team. The "strange events" in the final match in Iran were regarded as a conspiracy against "Tractor."
On August 14, during the annual general meeting of the East Azerbaijan football delegation, the President of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, officially apologized for the events that took place on "Black Friday."
Taj stated, "If those mistakes had not occurred, 'Tractor' would have been the champion. I hope that this year, with the help of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system, 'Tractor' can achieve this honor."
The federation president expressed that he owed this apology to the "Tractor" team.
Known as a symbol of Turkish identity in Iran, the "Tractor" Azerbaijan football team's fans have, over the years, chanted slogans, displayed posters, and raised demands for education in the Turkish language in stadiums. They have also shown support for political prisoners and protested the "drying up of Lake Urmia" and the ban on women entering stadiums in Iran.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
İran futbol federasiyasının rəhbəri "Traktor" klubundan üzr istəyib