Motahari's Request for Guidelines on Iranian Athletes' Interaction with Israeli Athletes

Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, has requested the Ministry of Sports and Youth and the Football Federation to end the issue surrounding two Iranian footballers playing against an Israeli team. He called for the preparation of 'guidelines on how Iranian athletes should interact with Israeli athletes.' According to ISNA news agency, Mr. Motahari on Wednesday, September 1, praised the message of Ehsan Haj Safi and acknowledged the necessity of not playing against a team from Israel, stating that Masoud Shojaei likely shares the same view. He expressed hope that the Football Federation and the Ministry of Sports and Youth would consider this message as 'the endpoint of this incident' and called for the Ministry of Sports to prepare 'guidelines' on how Iranian athletes should participate against Israeli athletes or in competitions officiated by Israeli referees, to be provided to sports federations. Masoud Shojaei and Ehsan Haj Safi, two Iranian players from the Greek club 'Paniotis', recently faced the Israeli club 'Maccabi' in the Europa League. They did not participate in the first leg hosted by Israel but accompanied their team in the return match in Athens. Following this, Mohammad Reza Davarzani, the Deputy Minister of Sports and Youth, announced on August 10 that these two players would not be invited to the Iranian national football team and 'no longer have a place in the national football team.' The day after, FIFA requested Iran to explain why these two national team players were banned for playing against an Israeli team. Meanwhile, several prominent Iranian football players and cinema artists strongly supported these two players, stating that they had no choice but to play for their team. Ultimately, Ehsan Haj Safi stated in a message: 'Unfortunately... our people justifiably judged an event that should not have occurred. But remember, we always strive to bring smiles of joy to 80 million Iranians and... we will move alongside the proud people of Iran in the path of revolution and leadership, considering being Muslim and Iranian as a source of pride and dignity.' He also referred to the killing of Mohsen Hojaji, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria, as a 'clear example of sacrifice' for the 'ideals of the revolution and security' of Iran. The Islamic Republic's ban on Iranian athletes facing Israeli opponents first occurred in 1983. In recent years, several Iranian athletes have also refrained from competing against Israeli athletes, with Islamic Republic officials citing 'support for the Palestinian people' as the reason for this action.