50 Lashes Punishment for Zia Arabshahi

Zia Arabshahi, a former player of the Iranian national football team and Persepolis club, has confirmed the implementation of an Islamic punishment of 50 lashes against him. Judicial authorities have not commented on the execution of this severe punishment or the reasons behind it. However, Mr. Arabshahi claims he was sentenced to lashes due to a complaint made by Afshin Peyrovani regarding statements made in an interview by Arabshahi. Meanwhile, Afshin Peyrovani, the manager of the Iranian national football team, has denied Arabshahi's claim, stating that he had previously agreed to settle the matter and waived his rights. Therefore, if such a punishment was imposed, it must have had another reason. Zia Arabshahi, now 56 years old, is considered one of the best defensive midfielders in the history of Persepolis and the Iranian national team. Before the revolution, he began his football career with Pas and gained experience alongside prominent players such as Hossein Kazrani and Majid Halvaei from the age of seventeen. He joined Persepolis in 1979 and retired from football eleven years later wearing the same team's jersey. During his time at Persepolis, he rejected a financial offer from another club that was several times higher than what Persepolis was paying. In the least attended period of the Iranian national football team, which was the first decade after the revolution, he played in 20 official national matches and has a record of participating in the Asian Cup and the Seoul Asian Games. Arabshahi has also scored two national goals. His powerful shot and beautiful goal against China in the 1984 Asian Cup were used for a long time in the credits of sports programs on state television. In 1980, he also scored against the Soviet team in a friendly match with a long-range shot. The boycott of the 1986 World Cup qualifiers by Iran caused him and his peers to miss several national matches and even the possibility of qualifying for the World Cup. The late Parviz Dehdari focused on rejuvenation during the 1988 Asian Cup, but nevertheless, he did not overlook the 29-year-old Arabshahi, who stood on the podium with one of the youngest teams in the history of Iranian football. During the peak years of Persepolis and the consecutive championships of the red team in the mid-60s, Arabshahi was a key player for this team. He holds an A coaching certificate from the Asian Football Confederation and has worked for several years in the youth categories of Persepolis, including as the head coach of the youth team. Arabshahi is also a critic of the state of football in Iran and the mismanagement of veteran affairs. During Afshin Ghotbi's coaching of the national team, he stated in a program that he did not consider Ghotbi deserving of the national team coaching position. Following the stroke of his wife, he was beside her in the hospital for 35 days and mentioned that despite paying 70 million tomans to the hospital and treatment costs, none of the federation or Persepolis officials inquired about him. Mr. Arabshahi referred to the support fund for veterans as 'nonsense and lies,' claiming it is a facade and its officials are only grinding their own flour. On Tuesday, the punishment attributed to Afshin Peyrovani regarding Arabshahi was executed. When Hamid Derakhshan and Peyrovani were giving interviews against each other, Arabshahi made accusations against Peyrovani in support of Derakhshan. Arabshahi claims that in court he was told either to pay money or accept the sentence. He accepted the sentence and received 50 lashes. In response to Arabshahi's statements, Peyrovani wrote on his Instagram account: 'A few years ago, I filed a complaint against you for your false statements. After that, out of respect for your wife’s call, who is like a sister to me, I withdrew and that was it. Today, I don’t know why you were punished, and my name has come up. Although I am saddened by your punishment, I do not know and do not want to know why you were punished.' Peyrovani stated that he wrote this note for the clarity of minds and the truth that, according to him, has been lost in the virtual space. In response to Peyrovani's denial, Arabshahi said he is being fallacious. Peyrovani claimed that he insulted him, while Arabshahi only said that Peyrovani calls bread 'biscuit!' Even the judge told Peyrovani's lawyer that this is not a bad statement. Arabshahi reminded in an interview with Fars News Agency that at the time of the execution of the sentence, he had asked the executors to contact Peyrovani to come and witness him being lashed.