Iran Bans Two Soccer Stars for Playing Against Israelis
The players, Masoud Shojaei, 33, the captain of the national team,
and Ehsan Haji Safi, 27, one of Iran’s most promising players, played for their Greek club team, Panionios, in a home game last week in Athens against Maccabi Tel Aviv from Israel.
Iranian said that I am wholeheartedly hoping for FIFA to deprive Iran from participating in the World Cup for banning Shojaei and Haji Safi,
"They weren’t even playing for Iran, but for their club
that invested in them." In fact, neither Mr. Shojaei nor Mr. Haji Safi participated in the club’s first game against Maccabi in Israel, which the Greek club also lost, 1-0.
10, 2017
TEHRAN — Two players on Iran’s national soccer team were banned for life from playing for their country on Thursday after they
participated in a match with their club team in Greece against an Israeli team, an Iranian governmental official said.
Iranian said that It is certain that Masoud Shojaei
and Ehsan Haji Safi will never be invited to join the national football team because they violated the red line,
"They can be replaced, but that is not an ideal situation." He did not want to comment on the political nature of the decision, saying only, "We have to see what
FIFA will decide." Mr. Shojaei also made headlines in June when he asked Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, to allow women into the stadium for the team’s games.