International Football Ban for Iran Over Sacking

Iran's passionate love affair with football is under strain after it was suspended from international competition because of alleged government meddling.

The ban, ordered by football's world governing body Fifa, jeopardises Iran's chances of participating in next year's Asian Cup, for which it qualified last week by beating South Korea.

It was imposed after the country's sports body ignored a Fifa deadline to re-instate Mohammed Dadkan as president of the Iranian football federation. Mr Dadkan was sacked in June amid fierce criticism of the national team's performance in the World Cup. Iran, currently 38th in Fifa's world rankings, lost to Mexico and Portugal before drawing with Angola.

The removal of Mr Dadkan was orchestrated by the government-run physical education organisation. When he resisted, influential figures in Iran's Islamic regime intervened. They included President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's brother, Davoud, who heads a powerful inspectorate.

Mr Dadkan claimed he was subjected to personal abuse after Iran's elimination, including being labelled a "Zionist collaborator" and an "alien".

A meeting in Zurich of Fifa's emergency committee, headed by the federation's president, Sepp Blatter, ruled this week that Mr Dadkan's sacking broke rules on the independence of national football associations from political interference.

"The committee took this decision after determining that the Iriff [the Iranian federation] was not adhering to the principles of the Fifa statutes regarding the independence of member associations, the independence of the decision-making process of the football governing body in each country and the way in which changes in the leadership of associations are brought about," a statement said.

The suspension would be lifted if the country adhered to a Fifa "road map" on reforming how football is run in Iran.

Iranian officials are defiant. One unnamed source, speaking to the semi-official Mehr news agency, said Fifa's action was "completely illegitimate".

State involvement in football issues is conducted openly in Iran, where national team victories are often greeted by euphoric street parties.

Mr Ahmadinejad, a football fan, trained with the national squad as it prepared for the World Cup. During the tournament, government officials, including the foreign ministry spokesman, were sent to Germany to mediate in a row between rival groups of players.