TEHRAN (Iran News) Mehdi Taj, who serves as president of Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran, said on Tuesday that he had discussed the issue with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and AFC President Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa.

Taj said that matches involving Iranian teams were moved to third-party countries because of regional tensions that led to Iran’s massive missile attacks on the Israeli regime in early October.

“We all believe that the usurping Zionist regime had to receive a jaw-breaking response and this response was delivered,” he said.

Taj reiterated that Iran’s right to host football matches would be restored if international airlines resume their flights to Iran and if nothing special happens in the coming weeks.

Taj said that matches involving Iranian teams were moved to third-party countries because of regional tensions that led to Iran’s massive missile attacks on the Israeli regime in early October.

“We all believe that the usurping Zionist regime had to receive a jaw-breaking response and this response was delivered,” he said.

Taj reiterated that Iran’s right to host football matches would be restored if international airlines resume their flights to Iran and if nothing special happens in the coming weeks.

Taj said that matches involving Iranian teams were moved to third-party countries because of regional tensions that led to Iran’s massive missile attacks on the Israeli regime in early October.

“We all believe that the usurping Zionist regime had to receive a jaw-breaking response and this response was delivered,” he said.

Taj reiterated that Iran’s right to host football matches would be restored if international airlines resume their flights to Iran and if nothing special happens in the coming weeks.

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Taj won the three-candidate race with 51 votes. The football federation acting president Mirshad Majedi earned 25 votes and Azizollah Mohammadi finished in third place with four votes.

He replaced Shahaboddin Azizi Khadem, who was removed from the presidency of IRIFF in February, a year after he had been appointed president.

The football federation’s website had announced that the General Assembly would not be held on Tuesday for non-compliance with the law.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Mehdi Taj has submitted his resignation as the president of Iranian football federation due to suffering from heart attacks.

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President of Iran Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, and President of Qatar Football Association (QFA) Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Thani held a meeting in Doha, Qatar on Saturday.

Taj has traveled to Doha to attend the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup final match between European champion Liverpool and Brazil’s Flamengo.

Two parties emphasized on mutual cooperation to further develop the sport in both countries.

Taj and Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa also discussed about the bilateral cooperation for the 2020 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

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He went on to say that he has reached an agreement with the Croatian manager for ending the contract, adding that the team will be guided by an Iranian coach.

Two of Iran’s young managers and Team Melli former players namely Yahya Golmohammadi and Javad Nekounam have been linked with the job.

Iran booked a place at the 2020 AFC U23 Championship as one of four best runners-up while Iraq advanced to the event as Group C winners of the qualification round.

The 2020 AFC U23 Championship will be the fourth edition of the AFC U23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted football championship organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men’s under-23 national teams of Asia. The tournament will be held from Jan. 8 to 26, 2020 in Thailand.

The top three teams of the tournament will qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics men’s football tournament in Japan as the AFC representatives.

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Other elected vice presidents of the AFC include Saoud A. Aziz M A Al-Mohannadi (Qatar) from West Zone, Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat (Pakistan) from South Zone, Zaw Zaw (Myanmar) from ASEAN Zone, and Ganbaatar Amgalanbaatar (Mongolia) from East Zone.

The full list of elected members for AFC Executive Committee and FIFA Council can be seen here.

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Queiroz has said Iran’s Ministry of Sport and Youth has put the football federation under pressure to terminate his deal after the 2019 AFC Asian Cup underway in the United Arab Emirates.

“Iran’s Ministry of Sport and Youth didn’t want the federation to extend my contract. Had I known about it, I would not have extended the agreement after the 2018 World Cup. I didn’t want to stand against the minister’s order,” Queiroz had told reporters on the sidelines of Team Melli’s training on Thursday.

Queiroz’s interview created concerns ahead of Iran football match against Oman in the Asian Cup Round of 16 against Oman scheduled for Sunday.

“Iran’s football family needs to keep calm and away from tension in the pivotal period. If there is any criticism it should be discussed after the competition. Team Melli’s pride is the aspiration of the Iranian people, Iran’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, and football federation, all of us are doing our best to make it happen,” Taj said.

“All wages, salaries and bonuses of coaching staff have been paid so far and the coaching crew must only talk about technical issues. Experience has shown that these kinds of controversies could jeopardize our success,” he added.

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This was confirmed by the Asian governing body on Saturday, with the elections scheduled for April 6, 2019.

“In accordance with Article 32.1 of the AFC statutes (Edition 2018), the member associations were notified that the election for members of the AFC Executive Committee (term 2019-2023) would be held at the congress in Kuala Lumpur on April 6.

“Member associations were given until midnight (Malaysia time) on Dec 6 to submit their nominations as per the requirement set out in the AFC statutes (Edition 2018) and its electoral code (Edition 2018),” read the statement by AFC.

There are five vice president spots up for grabs with Taj being one of the nominees, representing Central Asia.

For the AFC’s top post, incumbent Shaikh Salman Ebrahim Al Khalifa was nominated again. He will be challenged by two other nominees – Saoud A Aziz Al Mohannadi from Qatar and Emirati Mohamed Khalfan Matar Saeed Alromaithi.

AFC are also expected to select six names to be on the FIFA council and nine AFC executive committee members at the Congress.

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