AKI - An angry Massimo Moratti, president of
Italian Serie A champions Internazionale, abandoned a match in Tehran after
authorities enforcing a ban on women attending games in the Islamic Republic
stopped his his wife and daughter from entering the stadium. According to
the semi-official Iranian newsagency Fars, Moratti who travelled to Iran to
explore the possibility of opening football schools was scheduled to attend
a game between the capital's top two teams, Esteghhal and Saipa, on Sunday.
But after after arguing with officials who told hims his wife and daughter
would not be allowed to watch the game, Moratti left the stadium.
In April last year President Mahmud Ahmadinejad temporarily lifted the ban
on women attending men's sporting events in place since the establishment of
the Islamic republic in 1979. However, the president subsequently reversed
his decision citing the need to create facilities that would separate male
and female spectators at games.
