KABIR - Ali Kafashian, President of the Iranian Football Federation, said the U.S. sanctions can not hurt and annoy Iran’s football.

“Iranian Football Federation is NGO and its not a governmental association. But Iran’s enemies (referring to Western countries especially United States) are trying hard to put pressure on Iran’s football which is one of the most loved sports in country. Our enemies made several problems for Iranian Football Federation but they cannot hurt our move forward.” Ali Kafashian said.

Iran’s international referees also experienced some issues in order to receive their salary. “Currently we have cleared this issue and our referees can receive their earnings personally from international associations.” Kafashian added.

Recently AFC tried to pay $1 million to Iran’s Football Federation but they couldn’t transfer the money because of the sanctions. “We are considering all the options to receive this money as soon as possible. After putting financial sanctions on Iran, money transfers became harder and AFC couldn’t move the money into our account.” Ali Kafashian reiterated.