According to Tasnim news agency, Afshin Pirvani in an interview with Persepolis club’s website about the events that took place in Thursday’s game by Traktor fans, said: considering that no official official apologized to Persepolis club and the people for those issues, I apologize to the TV viewers and the fans that those issues arose and the conditions and security were not provided for the continuation of the match. These things are always unfortunate, because we are supposed to enjoy football.
He continued: Persepolis has fans everywhere. Even a few days ago, we planned to host Tabriz in the neutral city, because we have many fans in Tabriz and Azerbaijan. Our choice shows how we feel about Tabriz and its people. We hope this is the last time such scenes are seen.
The manager of the Persepolis football team noted: “Considering the strange, unprofessional and untrue comments made by some city and provincial officials, it seems that we should raise some points about reminders and training.” Before the game, the managers’ coordination meeting is held and all the issues related to the competition are decided and the minutes are approved. In the meeting before this game, the representatives of all the institutions involved in holding the match were present, and exceptionally this time, the referee was in charge. Were the resolutions of this meeting, the instructions of the Corona headquarters and the regulations of the league organization implemented in this match?
He said: “In the Corona period, they said that in each game, six members of the host team and four members of the guest team can be present in the stadium. After the vaccination and the corona subsided, the Corona headquarters said the stadiums would be open to spectators at 30 percent capacity. Note that 30%. Yadegar Imam Stadium is 66,000 people and thus only 19,800 tickets had to be sold and the same number had to attend the stadium. Was this done correctly? Was the law, the corona headquarters decision, the coordination meeting and the organization of the football league implemented?
A follower stated: Of course, this is not our problem. As the most popular team in Iran, which we have fans everywhere in Iran, we are eager for a large number of spectators in the stadium. Football is alive to the spectator, but our argument is that the law is not enforced. Secondly, now that this crowd has arrived, why was it not managed properly and security was not established before the start of the match until the moment it was done? With these descriptions, why do they come to comment after the non-implementation of the law and put the blame on this or that?
A follower said: What really happens that just a few days ago, in the most critical week of the league, we could not have a spectator in Sirjan, but for this game, it is beyond the spectator capacity? These must be explained by the league organization. The league organization is responsible for providing equal conditions for all teams and has accepted this responsibility as the organizer. We also want to see which team is responsible for ensuring the safety of the players and everyone in the stadium. The tractor players who stood next to our players were not safe either. As I speak, I am very upset and our team’s training yesterday was affected by what happened. The players said what would be the task if one of those stones broke someone’s head and blinded an eye? It is not just our players who were most at risk. The spectators, the organizers of the match, the referees, the photographers, the police and even the spectators themselves were in danger. They did not even feel sorry for their own coach and captain, who stood by our coach so that they would not be stoned, but of course I have to thank Saglam and Mehdi Kiani, the head coach and captain of Traktor, for their kind behavior.
He added: “Unfortunately, these days we hear strange comments from some city officials there, which show that they have no knowledge, not only of football issues, but also of the field for which they are responsible.” They have also found this game as a forum for their comments while they do not have the necessary literacy for the subject they are talking about and what they are doing. Before commenting, first, according to the responsibility they have, go to that stadium once and do their responsibility to solve the problem. They have given up their job and then comment on Persepolis.
A follower pointed out: I have to tell the official that if your child was in the stadium and, God forbid, one of those stones hit him, would you still talk like this and fail in your duties? How is it that with all this incompetence, shortcomings, non-performance of duties and events that everyone saw, they claim the right and condemn Persepolis? How can you really talk like that? What kind of hosting was done? How some people claim instead of being ashamed. The simplest issue was not to let more than 19,800 people into the stadium. Now that they are, at least the security of them and others should be established. Why was the security and conditions of the competition not provided? They come in the middle of the game and tell us not to hope for your corners! I said, “Come between our halves, give our team tactics and tell the substitutions.” Between the two halves, they could not even provide the conditions for our coach to come to the locker room. After the game, they could not join him in the team with their escorts and military hats. With this situation, some people now come and lie just as easily.
A follower continued: “Everyone who wants to comment must see his position and responsibility.” They want to ruin everything in Persepolis and one person. How could Persepolis be to blame when the rude obscenities started before the match and the rock-throwing started from the time of the warm-up? Has it happened once or twice in one match and two matches and in the same game? Some say why this only happens to Persepolis and then come to a conclusion. Well, one of the reasons is our many championships. You bring half of these honors and see how sensitive they are to you. On the other hand, we have many fans in Tabriz and Azerbaijan, although most of them do not feel safe to come to the stadium. It seems that the fact that we have a lot of fans there also bothers a lot.
The manager of Persepolis football team said: Another issue is who said that these issues only happen in games with Persepolis? It has been in other games as well. Unfortunately, this perspective often causes us to become overwhelmed when it’s time to start a project. We really hope that rationality and logic will find their place in behavior and speech. It was also said that the referee and the match observer were ready to start the game, but Persepolis did not accept. That is to say, the aristocracy do not have what they do and what they say.
A follower added: the law says that if the referee sees the conditions for the continuation of the match, he will enter the field. This did not happen at all. So that claim is not acceptable at all, but if it were otherwise, we should tell the courage of the referee and the observer that they were present on the field in those circumstances, and of course the responsibility for what happened to the players of the two teams, other organizers, photographers and themselves. Take charge of the audience and be accountable.
The manager of the Persepolis football team added: “My request is that the projections and false statements do not continue, otherwise, if necessary, there are other conversations that we want to raise, and this is not good for them at all.” Anyway, a lot happened in this game and a lot of slogans and professions were said that we do not intend to enter.