The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called Fifa “dictators and colonialists”, after world football’s governing body banned the Iranian women’s national team from an Olympic qualifier because their Islamic dress broke the organisation’s rules on playing kit. Mustafa Musleh Zadeh, Iran’s ambassador to Jordan, went further by saying the ban was “inhumane” and “politically motivated”.
The Iran team forfeited a 2012 Olympic qualifier against Jordan last Friday because they would not play without the full-body kit and headscarves.
“Theses are the dictators and colonialists who want to impose their lifestyle on others,” Ahmadinejad said, in a seasonal news conference. The Iran president said he had assigned Ali Saeedlu, Iran’s head of physical education, to pursue the case. “We will deal with those who carried out this ugly job. We follow definite rights of our girls.”
Zadeh said Iran would… >>>
