(Reuters) – Iran ‘s head coach Dragan Skocic and Mehdi Taremi, one of the country’ s most famous players, have questioned the decision to hold World Cup qualifiers in Bahrain when play begins in June.
The Iranians were told by the Asian Football Federation last week that the Gulf state will host the remaining Group C matches of the second round of the tournament, which will also featuring Iraq, Cambodia and Hong Kong.
Porto Taremi striker on behalf of the AFC of anti-Iran bias posted on social media and questioned why Bahrain got the hospitality rights at a time when temperatures can hit 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) .
“I wonder when these AFC biased decisions against Iranian football will end,” the striker tweeted.
“The heat of Bahrain and a number of other reasons make me wonder, why? I still wonder why those decisions will not come to an end. We have suffered our whole lives, this is just another. “
Skocic head coach, who was hired in February 2020 to replace Marc Wilmots, also took to social media to question the decision, saying it was not done for the good of all participants.
“In the session held to discuss the postponement of the matches, the Bahraini representative spoke, without any introduction, about hosting the remaining matches and it was surprised me, ”the Croatian wrote in an Instagram post.
“In my opinion, the AFC should have found a solution that benefits everyone – not one team – and made a decision in the spirit of sport.
“But in the end, all the teams have to go against us and we will no doubt have a strong presence that will overcome this situation. “
The AFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iraq lead the standings with Bahrain in second place, while Iran, who have qualified for the last two World Cups, are in third place, five points behind the leaders with a game in hand.
Only the group winners of each of the eight groups in the second round of Asian qualification are guaranteed to advance to the next stage of the competition.
Matches are expected to be played between May 31 and June 15 following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic of all Asian World Cup players in Asia in 2020.
Reporting by Michael Church in Hong Kong; Edited by William Mallard