TEHRANTIMES - Former Iran futsal coach Hossein Shams harshly criticized the Iranian football officials after Iran futsal team was eliminated from the 2012 Futsal World Cup.

Iran suffered a shock 2-1 loss against Colombia on Sunday in Bangkok and failed to qualify for the quarter-final round.

“Iran lost to a team which had just defeated Solomon Islands in the group stage. It’s unbelievable and a big embarrassment for Iran’s futsal,” Shams said.

“Our coaches never changed their tactics during the four games. Iran drew with Spain in its opening but edged Morocco and Panama. Spain easily scored a lot of goals against the two teams,” he added.

“Iran played with powerful rivals in the 2008 Futsal World Cup and finished in fifth place. Who is responsible for the embarrassing performance?” Shams stated.

Criticizing Spaniard Jesus Candelas Rodrigo, Shams said, “They (Iran’s football officials) said that the coach is a futsal Professor but I think that they have been cheated on.”