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| The owner of Tabriz's "Tractor Azerbaijan" club, Mohammad Reza Zonouzi. |
Despite the Iranian Football Federation’s announcement, the heated debate surrounding the events of the January 26 match between "Tractor Azerbaijan" and "Persepolis" continues.
The owner of the Tractor club, Mohammad Reza Zonouzi, sharply criticized the decision of the Federation’s disciplinary committee. Zonuzi emphasized that the decision was more of an encouragement than a punishment for the Persepolis supporters who shouted "racist chants."
According to the semi-official Tasnim agency, Zonuzi stated that they would follow up on the issue in FIFA regarding the racist chants directed at Turks.
"Some teams are directing racist behavior in the country, which is not good. We are all Iranians, and the entire population of Iran has worked hard for this country. It is wrong to shout racist chants and hurt some people. I told our club’s management to follow up on the issue. With this ruling regarding Persepolis, I think they are encouraging them to do the same thing again," said the owner of Tractor club.
In response to a journalist’s question about the club’s complaint to FIFA, he said, "We will follow up on the issue 100%. Because [the Federation's ruling] is not fair. I want justice; I have no other interest. Everyone knows that FIFA takes strict actions against racism."
Representatives of Tehran's Persepolis club have also issued strong statements against Tractor club. The director of public relations for the Tehran-based club, Mustafa Lashgari, wrote on his Instagram page, “Racism in any form is condemned. However, I wish this sensitivity was also shown to those who use fake names for the eternally Persian Gulf."
With these words, the Persepolis representative drew attention to videos showing Tractor fans referring to the Persian Gulf as the "Arab Gulf." In previously shared social media videos, some Tractor fans were seen calling the Persian Gulf, known in Iran as the "Farsi Gulf," the "Arab Gulf."
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
“Traktor” klubunun sahibi: Federasiyanın qərarı “irqçi şüar” verənlərə təşviq oldu, məsələni FİFA-da təqib edəcəyik