Chaos and Confusion

Late Friday night and early Saturday unconfirmed news out of Tehran suggested that the Iranian Football Federation (IFF) had found their man in Persepolis FC Head Coach Afshin Ghotbi.

However, almost immediately a series of contradictory comments by the IFF and Persepolis officials made it clear that the only certainty is this matter is the continued indecisiveness of those in charge.  

Ghotbi was scheduled to miss Perspolis’s flight to Shiraz for the match against Shahid Sepasi due to his involvement in the negotiations for the national team job. But oddly enough, he showed up at the airport shortly before takeoff and told a few surprised reporters that he had decided to rejoin the team after the IFF had failed to contact him within the mutually agreed upon timeframe.  

Ghotbi acknowledged that he had met with IFF chief Ali Kafashian and the National Physical Education Organization’s (PEO) associate director Kumars Hashemi, but was not able to meet PEO Chief, Mohammad Aliabadi.

Meanwhile a number of Persepolis officials and coaches who spoke to reporters seemed to be suggesting that Ghotbi was as good as gone. One such comment came from goalkeepers’ coach Saeid Azizian who seemed to try to calm the anxiety of Persepolis fans by saying that although Ghotbi’s departure would leave a vacuum, the team would do fine under the leadership of Ghotbi’s assistants Hamid Estili and Alireza Marzban.

For his part Kafashian told reporters that due to certain “complications” involved in the process, he could no longer commit to a date when the decision could be finalized.

To make matters more confused, an IFF insider, under the condition of anonymity, suggested that Mr. Kafashian has not yet given up on the possibility of reaching an agreement with the Spaniard Javier Clemente.

He further suggested that there may be “non-football related” issues preventing Ghotbi from ever getting the job. Some interpret this as possible disagreement amongst the members of the IFF Board of Directors and the top officials at the National Physical Education Organization (PEO).

What is curious throughout all of this is the direct PEO involvement in the search for the head coach.  

As some may recall, approximately one year ago, Iran got into hot waters with FIFA who objected to PEO’s political influence on football decisions in the country.

Eventually, PEO agreed to step aside and grant IFF the decision making independence outlined by FIFA. As a result disaster was avoided and Iran’s membership in FIFA was not jeopardized.   

Oddly enough, throughout the current turn of events all involved, including Ghotbi, Kaffashian, and Perspolis FC President Habib Kashani, have referred to PEO Chief Mohammad Aliabadi as the ultimate authority for approving any new candidate.