CEO of Persepolis Football Club in Evin Prison

Hamidreza Siasi, the CEO of Persepolis Football Club, who was arrested while attending the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office, has been transferred to Evin Prison on Saturday night. He is the second CEO of Persepolis to be sent to prison in a short period of time. Previously, Mohammad Royanian, the former CEO, and Saeed Shirini, the former caretaker of Persepolis, had also been imprisoned. The Tasnim news website reported Siasi's transfer to Evin, stating: "Siasi claims he was arrested due to the club's issues with the former sponsor 'Sadra System Pasargad' and will not be released easily." Before his transfer to prison, the Persepolis CEO told ISNA news agency that he was sent to detention for problems he was not responsible for. "I came to the prosecutor's office, and the investigator arrested me due to issues that existed in previous managements and the cases that occurred in the club." He noted: "I personally have no issue being detained. This incident happened only because of the club's cases, and I will likely have to stay here tonight. I am paying for the mistakes of previous managers." But could a CEO of a state-owned club be imprisoned for the misconduct of previous managers? This is while the government has appointed new managers for both Persepolis and Esteghlal, emphasizing the previous issues and errors that are still being discussed in sports debates on state television. The CEO of Sadra System Pasargad, who, according to Tasnim, has led to Siasi's imprisonment, had previously stated to reporters about supporting Persepolis: "We entered football at Royanian's suggestion. If he is not there, the plans will fall apart; our goal is to help Persepolis under Royanian's management. If Royanian is not there, we will be harmed, and our views will certainly change." Now, Hamidreza Siasi's lawyer says that only a misunderstanding has occurred regarding the arrest of the Persepolis CEO. He told ISNA: Unfortunately, the investigator did not like Mr. Siasi's behavior and issued a criminal order. The lawyer believes that his client's behavior in the prosecutor's office led to his arrest, but Amirreza Khadem, the Deputy Minister of Sports, has a different opinion, stating: "The reason for Siasi's arrest is the cases that exist from previous managements. Esteghlal and Persepolis have extensive financial problems, and now we must be accountable." Khadem expressed hope for Siasi's early release and told the ministry's website: "It is possible that the same problems will catch Esteghlal as well. I hope that with the help of the judiciary, the process of transferring the two clubs will proceed quickly and accurately, and we will not witness these issues." The spokesperson for Persepolis also mentioned: The arrest order for Mr. Siasi relates to his legal personality, and any other person who was the CEO of Persepolis would certainly have been arrested. With such reasoning, why was the order not executed during Rahimi's management? The spokesperson of Persepolis did not provide a clear answer to this question.