According to Tasnim news agency, Mehdi Taj said about his re-election as the vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation: “It is an important discussion that we should have an important position in Asia.” A decision is made in the AFC before the eligibility of national teams is reviewed by FIFA. If an AFC member is Iranian, he is influential in the decisions, while the interests of Asia will be at the disposal of the AFC Board.
The president of the football federation reminded about the resignation of his rival for the post of AFC vice president: this person (Dastanbek Konokbaef) was a serious competitor in Asian football and is currently the vice president of CAF. Candidates weigh people in the last two or three days. In Bahrain, he had asked countries like Japan, South Korea, Qatar, etc. and he came to the conclusion that it is better to withdraw. The Asian group is looking at me and this issue made him send a letter to AFC and withdraw the day before the elections.
Taj, who was talking to Panj Sima’s stadium program, about whether the football federation and the league organization are responsible for the cost of video assistant referee VAR or the clubs, reminded: VAR is an important issue and many countries are using this system. Some countries, including Qatar, did this from the beginning, and recently, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have entered into this work with a smaller capacity. We must also go this way. FIFA is on the side of the Football Federation, but the company’s contract regarding VAR is with the clubs. Of course, I confirm that when a stadium rents from a club to host, it must provide all the equipment and standard components of the game itself.
The head of the Football Federation noted: The issue of VAR and companies is endless. FIFA changes its representatives from time to time. The companies will give FIFA $50 billion as a guarantee that if a team is harmed by VAR, the company will pay the loss, according to the statement. Therefore, not every company can get a license for VAR. With this introduction, I must say that not all countries can have VAR and we don’t. It is not right for Tajikistan to say if you want help for VAR, this is not good for a vast country like Iran. We must try and work together to provide the conditions for the training of judges. If we cannot meet these conditions, we will send some referees to neighboring countries for training. A referee will also go to Tajikistan for training so that we don’t miss the opportunity.
Regarding the selection of the head coach of Iran’s national football team after saying goodbye to Carlos Queiroz, Taj said: We have two important choices ahead of us, one is the head coach of the Omid football team and the other is the head coach of the senior national team. Regarding Queiroz, I spoke with Sheikh Hamad, president of the Qatar Federation, and I think they will have a final meeting today and maybe they will reach a conclusion. I have to thank him for his 9 years of presence in Iranian football, he introduced a new generation to Iranian football and did positive things. I always thank Kirosh and whenever I see him I treat him with respect because he worked hard for our country.
The head of the football federation noted: There are two different views regarding the selection of the head coach of the national team, one view; Internal trainer and a look for the external option. Domestic coaches have worked hard in the past and many events are their product, people like Heshmat Mohajerani, Ali Parveen and Ali Daei, Javad Nekonam and Vahid Hashemian helped the national team a lot.
He mentioned: From the point of view of a foreign coach, the presence of a person like Kirosh has been positive. We are limited in choosing the foreign option. The issue of embargo has its effect everywhere. If we have cash, it is not practical to transfer it to someone abroad. We are one of the defendants in the Wilmots case. Why were we accused? Because we could not pay him on time. The story of Branco, Calderon and Stramaccioni was the same. According to FIFA law, coaches can unilaterally terminate their contract if they do not pay their money after two months. We have a lot of famous and quality coaches who have a good resume. Many coaches want to be the head coach of the Iranian national team, because with so many legionnaires, every coach wants to be the head coach of the national team.
In response to AC media’s claim about negotiations with Paco Khums, the Spanish head coach of Tractor Tabriz, Taj said: These were their own speculations. They proposed a person that the federation and the board of directors were unaware of. Choosing the head coach of the national team is one of the tasks facing the football federation and it is done quickly. I talked about the type of choice that there are two different views. If we came to the conclusion that foreign benefits are better than domestic, we would accept it, but if it is a domestic option and some people criticize the conditions of the domestic option, we will accept it from now on. However, according to all aspects, we came to the conclusion that this choice (Iranian coach) is better.
In the end, in response to the question of how the company was chosen as the representative of EVS in Iran, he said: I have no idea.