Exclusion of Some Key Players from Iran's Women's National Volleyball Team

In the new roster of Iran's women's national volleyball team, several key players have been omitted. The Volleyball Federation has cited youthfulness as the reason for this decision. The Asian qualifying competitions for the World Championship will be held in Thailand starting from September 20, where Iran is grouped with South Korea, Thailand, North Korea, and Vietnam. Iran's women's volleyball team will head to the qualifiers without its most prominent players. The list of invited players includes Tahmineh Dargazani, Zahra Bakhshi, Fatemeh Amini, Neda Chamlanian, Farnaz Saei, Reyhaneh Davarpanah, Haleh Motaghian, Zahra Shiri, Mona Daris Mahmoudi, Sogand Salim, Fatemeh Ebrahimi, Fatemeh Ahmadi, Elham Fallah, Mina Rousta, Sara Nazari, Mahsa Koodakda, Fatemeh Eidelkhani, Mahsa Saberi, Aytek Salamat, Maryam Yektaei, and Fatemeh Hasani. Maideh Barahani, 29, and Zeynab Giyeh, the captain of the national team, are two female volleyball players who have played in the professional league in Bulgaria, and their exclusion has made headlines more than others. Barahani wrote on her Instagram: 'Some media figures have condemned the players with slander and defamation. We expect the federation to prevent the dissemination of false news. We leave the judgment to the dear people of our country.' Besides Barahani and Giyeh, the names of Farzaneh Zarei, Negar Kiani, Shokouh Safari, Farnoush Sheikhi, and Soudeh Bagherpour are also missing from the list of invitees. Maideh Alighmand, a sports reporter, wrote on Instagram: 'It started with the captain and ended with the libero. They were excluded from the national team without even a farewell match, in complete disrespect. Where in the world of sports is a national player treated this way?' Alighmand noted that Mona Khajekalaei, Frank Babylian, and Farzaneh Moradian have retired and given up on the sport. Shabnam Alikhani, the national team's setter, was also not invited. The Vice President of Women's Volleyball Federation stated: 'It was decided to give experienced players some rest for recovery. Players must always respect the federation's decisions. If they are not pleased, they must also be patient.' Fariba Sadeghi told the Volleyball Federation's news agency: 'We will deal with players who provoke public opinion in the media and try to disrupt the volleyball atmosphere with biased comments if necessary.' She emphasized that the use of younger players should have happened much earlier to avoid stagnation after several years. The federation's president also granted her full authority. It is unclear how the Vice President of Women's Affairs was given full authority regarding 'youthfulness' despite the national team's head coach having the competence to invite or exclude players. Mostafa Shojaei was sent as a technical advisor to the Asian Championship, while footage of the competitions and player interviews show that he was officially the head coach, and Akram Ghahramani merely held the title. Shojaei stated on Radio Sports: 'I excluded two players who had aged and injected younger players instead. I decided to add a few more young players to the team for the World Championships in Thailand.' One of the national team players, who is 28 years old, said: 'Shojaei's language was by no means befitting a coach. Why does a coach allow himself to describe national team players with such terms?' Shokouh Safari told Young Journalists Club: 'I am not aged; I am young. I had a 33% block defense rate, while some of my teammates had rates below 3%! They wanted to boycott some experienced players from the beginning.' This Isfahan player commented on the departure of Maida Chichich from the head coach position of the women's national volleyball team: 'Maida was the only coach who played a role in changing our mindset and tried to boost our confidence. We had a really good relationship with Maida.' Safari concluded: 'I wish they would at least not obliterate the efforts of previous players and coaches. The rights of these players, who have spent the best years of their lives in volleyball with minimal expectations, do not deserve this kind of treatment and the use of such vulgar language.