According to the Mehr reporter, Sohail Mehdi said about the criticism of the lack of planning of the league organization and the frequent cancellation of the games of the current season: “Last day, when we canceled a week of games, it was interesting to me that the criticisms were so many and consecutive that at the beginning We thought that after a few days of hard work, at least one person would say thank you. Today, when we are in the fifth week, we brought VAR to Iran despite all the problems and sanctions for the Champions League. Hosting Al-Nasr, due to the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane and other stars who have made this team a popular team in the world in terms of players, was done in the best possible way.
He stressed about the comparison between European and domestic leagues: We are now in the fifth week. With all the problems we had last year, we started our league with the European window and finished with a difference of 2-3 days against prestigious leagues like Germany and Italy. We should not make the issue critical. We just canceled one week of the league. Let’s not forget the national players, the national team and even our Asian representatives, who are quasi-national teams, last month, in addition to the Premier League, they participated in the Olympic qualifiers, the Asian Games and the Champions League. In these 5 weeks, we had 3 international tournaments, some of which are still not finished.
Regarding the possibility that the Premier League will be closed for a month during the Asian Nations Cup, he said: “All my efforts and planning is to finish the league with a standard approach and situation at the appointed time.” This is our duty, but don’t forget that the politics and red line of the league organization have always been the national teams. To hold the league, the conditions of these Asian teams and representatives should be considered. There has been no difference between Persepolis, Sepahan, Nasaji or, for example, Padideh in the past for us.
In response to the question of whether we will have a holiday in the middle of the season, the head of the competition committee of the league said: We will try to hold delayed games as much as we can according to a proper and correct procedure. Like last year, we didn’t have a backlog of games before the World Cup. The half season will definitely not end until the Nations Cup. We wanted to finish half the season before the Nations Cup, but it didn’t happen. Immediately after these competitions, we will continue the league. We also consider the closure of the Nations Cup as a break for the teams for half a season.
Regarding the possibility of VAR remaining in Azadi and Naqsh Jahan Stadium, Mehdi stated: This system should remain for the Asian Champions League. With the same path we took for these matches, we will soon consider good arrangements for use in the Premier League. I request the critical friends to see the work done. I don’t know if the same system will be used for the league.
The head of the competition committee of the league organization clarified about the uncertainty of the capital city derby: We had the Olympic and senior national team selection matches at the same time. The density of matches in five weeks was high. Going forward, this program will be lighter and we will try to hold a derby before the Nations Cup.
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