PTV - Tehran's Persepolis
striker Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht has been banned from playing in the Iranian
national soccer squad for two years.
The order was issued by the disciplinary committee of the Iranian Football
Federation (IFF) on Tuesday evening.
The punishment came after Nikbakht failed to accompany his country's
national soccer team on a camping trip to Qatar last week.
The player has also been ordered to pay a 100 million rial (almost $10,000)
fine.
"I accept the verdict and have no complaints about it," Nikbakht said. "I
apologize to all Iranians for the incident and hope to play in the national
team again."
Iran, coached by Ali Daei, will face the UAE in its third World Cup
qualifying match this afternoon. The two teams drew 0-0 in Tehran in the
previous qualification round.
Iran is in Group B of the final Asian qualifying round, competing with Saudi
Arabia, North Korea, South Korea and the UAE for a place in the 2010 World
Cup.
