TM NEWS - VOL 8

[Rooyintan]

All of the euro teams you mentioned have this minor thing called Euro qualifiers for all of the upcoming fifa dates...

I would rather play Jordan iraq qatar oman and Saudi than latvia, moldova, and random concacaf crap like el salvador frankly. We all know friendly with US/Canada are no go, so that leaves maybe mexico (who prefer to play friendlies in states, even TM going to mexico is crazy trip for 1 game) and maybe panama/honduras which is similar level to oman/jordan.

only friendly im moderately pissed we didnt set up was the annual venezuela game and as you mention Japan.

Yes, Europeans are playing UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches in September and October. It seems I was wrong about Latvia, I don't see any free days for them.

However the following teams are available on the match days mentioned.

Moldova(171) 7 September 2023
Turkiye(43) 11 September 2023
Montenegro(69) 14 October 2023
Armenia(97) 15 October 2023
North Macedonia(65) 17 October 2023

[Rooyintan]

You can just say you don't want to play against Arab teams because of over-familiarity and save the racist bullshit

I did not say anything racist. The racists are those many Iranians and IRI who see Arabs and Shia Muslims above everyone else.

In my opinion, Team Melli faces West Asia's Arab teams all the time. I see no benefit in playing them in friendlies for the following reasons:

1. Their football federations have always tried to interfere in Iran's football or insult Iran:

- refuse to accept international recognized geographical names such as Persian Gulf
- disrepect Iran's territorial integrity (Abu Musa and Tunb Islands, Persian Gulf, Khuzestan Province, Arvand River)
- waving other Arab countries flag, eg. Bahraini players waved Saudi flag in celebration
- preventing Iranian clubs to host matches
- did everything to get Iranian clubs suspended from AFC Champions League
- broken promises eg. last year not only Qatar did not deliver arranging high profile friendly matches for Team Melli, they even gave a venue with poor pitch condition for Team Melli's match versus Algeria in June, which Skocic and Team Melli players were not happy, after math was unmotivated players who lost to Algeria's bench and uncapped players.
- Jordan Football Federation insulted Iran by claiming Iranian women players are Men
- Iraqi, Syrian, Lebanese, and other Arab countries football fans on many occasions chanted insults and racist remarks about Iran country, culture, flag, anthem, etc
- Some Arab teams agree to play Team Melli in friendly match but then deliberately cancel last minute to harm Team Melli's preparations and plans

2. Unsportmanship behavior on the field

- West Asia's Arab footballers cheat, grassroll, waste time, or try to look for a fight instead of playing Football

3. Arab teams themselves show no interest in playing Team Melli in friendlies

- many Arab teams refused to come to Tehran for friendly match (Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait) or even refuse to face Team Melli (Kuwait, Lebanon, Bahrain).

Iraq for instance played Zambia, Ecuador, Mexico in friendlies. This year preferred to face Russia rather than Iran. This month gonna face Colombia in friendly. Qatar and Oman also prefers UEFA, CONMEBOL, CAF and CONCACAF to Team Melli any day. Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia who show no interest in Team Melli play Arab teams or those from UEFA, CONMEBOL, CAF and CONCACAF. Some of Arab teams even prefer to face New Zealand or face lowered ranked AFC teams than Iran!

4. Friendly matches should be Intercontinental, for excitement and new experiences

- FFIRI should aim at arranging friendlies with teams from UEFA, CONMEBOL, CAF, CONCACAF. If from AFC, then teams that Iran rarely plays such as Japan (for high profile friendly) or teams that never played for Team Melli's bench/young/uncapped players such as East Timor, Mongolia, Macau, Brunei, Northern Mariana Islands, once done it means Team Melli has faced every AFC member
For CONMEBOL, Team Melli has never faced Colombia, so should aim at arranging friendly with them sometime in the future.

I say it again, I always welcome Team Melli playing friendly matches with Arab speaking countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Sudan and Chad.

Djibouti, Comoros, Somalia their football quality is not worth for Team Melli to play friendly with them.

[Hosseini]

"Arabworshippers" "Arab party"... completely ridiculous statements. Is there a single example where someone is worshipping Arabs here? You are making us Iranians look bad when non Iranians come peruse the forums and see the out of pocket comments you make.

For one, all of your comments are given without much context in terms of the world Iran is in. Do you think Europe and North America are more friendly to Iran than these Arab countries? Let's look at the facts. Canada single-handedly tried to sabotage our WC preparation because of absurd political pressure they fell to. The US made tensions more volatile when we faced them and edited our flag on their social media, something that never happens around the world. Nike, a US company, sanctioned our team from being able to use cleats at the World Cup. As for UEFA, they won't even touch us because of politics, maybe besides Bosnia, so good luck with that.

Secondly, Qatar was the country that actually funded our 2019 AC preparation, when our federation said no to sponsoring any activities and was broke, ok? I am indifferent to Arab national teams, and am aware of the high tensions and negative football when we play them (which is because they are weaker sides and negative football is a strategy to win), but let's not forget Qatar came to the rescue when we had no other options. To blame Qatar for the logistical nightmare that came from our own incompetent federation is also a huge exaggeration. Skocic, Majedi, and co failed to make the proper reservations necessary for the Algeria friendly. That was not Qatar's fault, that was our own idiocy.

As for Iraq, we played them in friendlies several times, namely before the Asian Cup in 2015. If they don't want to play us in friendlies that is their prerogative. According to your argument, it would be better if they didn't play us, so I'm not sure why you're getting so defensive over it.

Remember when Saudi beat us fair and square in Azadi and firecrackers went off when they scored their goal in the 88th minute, getting us penalized by FIFA? Is that justified? Many of these things go both ways, so let's not pretend the IFF is some saintly figure. Go to one match against any Arab team in Azadi and you'll hear racist chants too. I've seen it for myself.

I did not say anything racist. The racists are those many Iranians and IRI who see Arabs and Shia Muslims above everyone else.

In my opinion, Team Melli faces West Asia's Arab teams all the time. I see no benefit in playing them in friendlies for the following reasons:

1. Their football federations have always tried to interfere in Iran's football or insult Iran:

- refuse to accept international recognized geographical names such as Persian Gulf
- disrepect Iran's territorial integrity (Abu Musa and Tunb Islands, Persian Gulf, Khuzestan Province, Arvand River)
- waving other Arab countries flag, eg. Bahraini players waved Saudi flag in celebration
- preventing Iranian clubs to host matches
- did everything to get Iranian clubs suspended from AFC Champions League
- broken promises eg. last year not only Qatar did not deliver arranging high profile friendly matches for Team Melli, they even gave a venue with poor pitch condition for Team Melli's match versus Algeria in June, which Skocic and Team Melli players were not happy, after math was unmotivated players who lost to Algeria's bench and uncapped players.
- Jordan Football Federation insulted Iran by claiming Iranian women players are Men
- Iraqi, Syrian, Lebanese, and other Arab countries football fans on many occasions chanted insults and racist remarks about Iran country, culture, flag, anthem, etc
- Some Arab teams agree to play Team Melli in friendly match but then deliberately cancel last minute to harm Team Melli's preparations and plans

2. Unsportmanship behavior on the field

- West Asia's Arab footballers cheat, grassroll, waste time, or try to look for a fight instead of playing Football

3. Arab teams themselves show no interest in playing Team Melli in friendlies

- many Arab teams refused to come to Tehran for friendly match (Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait) or even refuse to face Team Melli (Kuwait, Lebanon, Bahrain).

Iraq for instance played Zambia, Ecuador, Mexico in friendlies. This year preferred to face Russia rather than Iran. This month gonna face Colombia in friendly. Qatar and Oman also prefers UEFA, CONMEBOL, CAF and CONCACAF to Team Melli any day. Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia who show no interest in Team Melli play Arab teams or those from UEFA, CONMEBOL, CAF and CONCACAF. Some of Arab teams even prefer to face New Zealand or face lowered ranked AFC teams than Iran!

4. Friendly matches should be Intercontinental, for excitement and new experiences

- FFIRI should aim at arranging friendlies with teams from UEFA, CONMEBOL, CAF, CONCACAF. If from AFC, then teams that Iran rarely plays such as Japan (for high profile friendly) or teams that never played for Team Melli's bench/young/uncapped players such as East Timor, Mongolia, Macau, Brunei, Northern Mariana Islands, once done it means Team Melli has faced every AFC member
For CONMEBOL, Team Melli has never faced Colombia, so should aim at arranging friendly with them sometime in the future.

I say it again, I always welcome Team Melli playing friendly matches with Arab speaking countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Sudan and Chad.

Djibouti, Comoros, Somalia their football quality is not worth for Team Melli to play friendly with them.

[perspolis#1]

Given the short window to Asian Cup its fine if we play those Arab teams but they offer no chance for us to improve beyond what we have now. If we want to improve we need to test our team in decent friendlies against Mexico, Serbia, Bosnia, Czechia, Albania, Georgia, Greece, Turkey etc which are teams around our level or maybe a bit above.

Also the October 16th game with Iraq I am not sure it can happen because that is the first day of Irans World cup qualifying campaign. Unless both teams are guaranteed to have a bye(which doesnt make sense) we will have a diff game

[Rooyintan]

Given the short window to Asian Cup its fine if we play those Arab teams but they offer no chance for us to improve beyond what we have now. If we want to improve we need to test our team in decent friendlies against Mexico, Serbia, Bosnia, Czechia, Albania, Georgia, Greece, Turkey etc which are teams around our level or maybe a bit above.

Also the October 16th game with Iraq I am not sure it can happen because that is the first day of Irans World cup qualifying campaign. Unless both teams are guaranteed to have a bye(which doesnt make sense) we will have a diff game

Team Melli and high ranked teams have a bye so they all skip the First Round of qualification in October. Iran joins in the Second Round and first match is 16 November.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_F...ification_(AFC)

[Rooyintan]

"Arabworshippers" "Arab party"... completely ridiculous statements. Is there a single example where someone is worshipping Arabs here? You are making us Iranians look bad when non Iranians come peruse the forums and see the out of pocket comments you make.

For one, all of your comments are given without much context in terms of the world Iran is in. Do you think Europe and North America are more friendly to Iran than these Arab countries? Let's look at the facts. Canada single-handedly tried to sabotage our WC preparation because of absurd political pressure they fell to. The US made tensions more volatile when we faced them and edited our flag on their social media, something that never happens around the world. Nike, a US company, sanctioned our team from being able to use cleats at the World Cup. As for UEFA, they won't even touch us because of politics, maybe besides Bosnia, so good luck with that.

Secondly, Qatar was the country that actually funded our 2019 AC preparation, when our federation said no to sponsoring any activities and was broke, ok? I am indifferent to Arab national teams, and am aware of the high tensions and negative football when we play them (which is because they are weaker sides and negative football is a strategy to win), but let's not forget Qatar came to the rescue when we had no other options. To blame Qatar for the logistical nightmare that came from our own incompetent federation is also a huge exaggeration. Skocic, Majedi, and co failed to make the proper reservations necessary for the Algeria friendly. That was not Qatar's fault, that was our own idiocy.

As for Iraq, we played them in friendlies several times, namely before the Asian Cup in 2015. If they don't want to play us in friendlies that is their prerogative. According to your argument, it would be better if they didn't play us, so I'm not sure why you're getting so defensive over it.

Remember when Saudi beat us fair and square in Azadi and firecrackers went off when they scored their goal in the 88th minute, getting us penalized by FIFA? Is that justified? Many of these things go both ways, so let's not pretend the IFF is some saintly figure. Go to one match against any Arab team in Azadi and you'll hear racist chants too. I've seen it for myself.

Comments such as "Arab Party" and "Arabworshippers" are not ridiculous, they are the reality that there are many Iranians who have hatred towards people and countries of Central Asia, or see Shia Muslims and Arabs above everyone else.

Game in Canada got cancelled was because of ill-mannered Iranians themselves not Canadian Soccer Association or government.

I am not the person making Iran look bad. Actually those who make Iran look bad are IRI who sent thugs to the World Cup to beat up any Iranian holding Lion and Sun Flag or wearing Zan Zendegi Azadi t-shirts or some of those ill-mannered Iranians who waved flags of UK, USA, Ukraine, Kurdistan, Al Ahwaz, Baluchistan in celebration of Team Melli's defeat against England and USA and exit out of the World Cup, or signed petition to have Team Melli banned from World Cup, or Pofiyuz posts on social media about Team Melli.

I say it again, Team Melli faces West Asia's Arabs all the time. Their football quality is poor and not high. In fact Uzbekistan plays much better than most of those Arab teams, other countries such as Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are also strong teams and at times got robbed versus Arabs because of bad refereeing or corrupt referees whistling and making calls for the advantage of Arabs. Many Iranians are racist or anti-Sunni and that is the only reason with insulting remarks towards Central Asians.

[Hosseini]

There's no real point in conversing with you because you traffic in emotions and no logic or facts. I don't know who sees Shia Muslims and Arabs above everyone else here, as you directly referred to people on PFDC in your post.

It's funny how when it comes to so called liberal and tolerant Western countries, the problem becomes Iran and our "ill manners". You realize they cancelled the friendly because of the airliner plane being downed, a politically motivated clear violation of FIFA law, and nothing else? It's a textbook case of intermixing political motivations and sports and went completely ignored

And Uzbekistan does not actually play better than most Arab teams. If that was the case they would have qualified to the final round of WC qualifiers ahead of Syria, Lebanon, Oman, and Iraq but they failed.

Comments such as "Arab Party" and "Arabworshippers" are not ridiculous, they are the reality that there are many Iranians who have hatred towards people and countries of Central Asia, or see Shia Muslims and Arabs above everyone else.

Game in Canada got cancelled was because of ill-mannered Iranians themselves not Canadian Soccer Association or government.

I am not the person making Iran look bad. Actually those who make Iran look bad are IRI who sent thugs to the World Cup to beat up any Iranian holding Lion and Sun Flag or wearing Zan Zendegi Azadi t-shirts or some of those ill-mannered Iranians who waved flags of UK, USA, Ukraine, Kurdistan, Al Ahwaz, Baluchistan in celebration of Team Melli's defeat against England and USA and exit out of the World Cup, or signed petition to have Team Melli banned from World Cup, or Pofiyuz posts on social media about Team Melli.

I say it again, Team Melli faces West Asia's Arabs all the time. Their football quality is poor and not high. In fact Uzbekistan plays much better than most of those Arab teams, other countries such as Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are also strong teams and at times got robbed versus Arabs because of bad refereeing or corrupt referees whistling and making calls for the advantage of Arabs. Many Iranians are racist or anti-Sunni and that is the only reason with insulting remarks towards Central Asians.

[Hosseini]

The "corrupt referee" cope talking point is another funny one. Name 2 or 3 examples of corrupt refereeing happening in the past 3 years in favor of Arab teams in AFC. Actually just name a single one. Put up the evidence or stop making fabrications

Accusations of cheating are extremely serious ones for referees. Every game a referee is closely monitored for their performance now. There is no room for bias or critical mistakes

[perspolis#1]

The "corrupt referee" cope talking point is another funny one. Name 2 or 3 examples of corrupt refereeing happening in the past 3 years in favor of Arab teams in AFC. Actually just name a single one. Put up the evidence or stop making fabrications

Accusations of cheating are extremely serious ones for referees. Every game a referee is closely monitored for their performance now. There is no room for bias or critical mistakes

It's the second world cup qualifying in a row Saudi Arabia has had the most penalties.

[Babak_Shirazi]

It's the second world cup qualifying in a row Saudi Arabia has had the most penalties.

To be fair arabs especially saudis often have the body type of an grasshopper meaning they can easily be taken down in the penalty area thus getting penalties is more likely to happen for them 😌

[perspolis#1]

To be fair arabs especially saudis often have the body type of an grasshopper meaning they can easily be taken down in the penalty area thus getting penalties is more likely to happen for them 😌

The Saudi team at the last World cup was the tallest it has been in some time. If this was the case the other Confederations would have a similar deal.

In more than 2 occassions at both World cup qualifying Saudi was awarded a penalty after the 75th minute

[Hosseini]

The Saudi team at the last World cup was the tallest it has been in some time. If this was the case the other Confederations would have a similar deal.

In more than 2 occassions at both World cup qualifying Saudi was awarded a penalty after the 75th minute

Look at both those examples. Were they not penalties?

We were also awarded two penalties, both against Arab teams. Was it rigged?

It takes two seconds of logical thinking to dispel these myths

[perspolis#1]

Look at both those examples. Were they not penalties?

We were also awarded two penalties, both against Arab teams. Was it rigged?

It takes two seconds of logical thinking to dispel these myths

Some of their penalties during the campaign were indeed. Some should not have been. There's no myth. Factually Saudi did receive the most penalties in Asian Cup qualifying two world cups in a row.

See the first penalty in this video. They called a handball for no clear reason for a player whose hand is attached to their body, giving Saudi a lifeline. Iran would never get that call in a million years.

Anyway, Do not put me in the camp of "arab hater" when I'm just talking about football. Since I started following football there have been an incredible amount of instances I have seen Arab teams try to discredit or harm the Iranian team through negative play/antics. This is something I have never seen from S Korea/Japan/ Uzbekistan etc. It's not an imaginary thing, even Azmoun referred to it when we beat Qatar 2-0 at the death in WCQ at Azadi when he said "Ina ke football balad nistan faghat oftadan".

1) Never forget the Bahrain-Iran 2001 game with them flying the Saudi flag after the game. Also depends on what you believe really happened that day when we collapsed against a Bahrain team.

2) There have been multiple games where an Iranian team has flown to Bahrain/Saudi/UAE and we have been systematically mistreated. Many of our ACL teams have been stuck at the airport for 10+ hours for "security checks" when you know exactly what statistics not based on emotion say. One time in Saudi Arabia, Persepolis was literally seen practicing in the hotel hallway instead of being allowed access to a field.

3) Our players have been subject to abuse in the form of objects such as water bottles being thrown at them and the national anthem(for whichever regime) jeered. This has happened multiple times and they tend to play more violently in these games against us.

4) Let's just make a note of the grassrolling antics all over the years.


These footballing antics come from a place of footballing inferiority which is why frankly most all Arab(non N. Africa) football ties are dreary affairs and their players only gain wings playing against us. I'm grateful for Qatar doing what they did for us in the WC but on the field the antics stay the same and if we run into CQ's Qatar, I bet there will be no change.

Just a note, these things I say are not only Iranian fans but among fans of other teams in their respective confederations. A lot of US fans I speak to and have seen myself, they hate being a part of CONCACAF because every team besides Mexico and Canada try to play dull, borderline violent/abuse games with questionable refereeing against the US when they go to play abroad. Most of those teams accused in that regard are Honduras/El Salvador/ Costa Rica. There's nothing racist about this, its literally the opinion of a fanbase.

Right now the only Arab teams that we learn anything playing against would be Saudi and Qatar. The rest should count as charity work. We don't learn much against CAFA nations either but have a chance to atleast work on linkup play. We should not mix politics and sports. Based on the FOOTBALLING behavior of those teams I will admit it, I would find it enjoyable ragging on their teams with high effort, big scoreline wins the way Mexico hopes to vs CONCACAF's central American teams.

I'm hoping for a drubbing of Palestine and UAE.

[Hosseini]

The penalty that you clipped is a penalty (thank you at least for providing some evidence). It's a penalty because the player is sliding in to make an attempt on the ball, but uses his upper arm as a barrier to block the shot. In these cases, the lower support arm is fine - but since the contact is with his upper arm, it is an offense and YC for SPA, which was this defender's second yellow. Correct decision.

1) I don't dispute any of the examples you brought up. The airport incidents are discrimination. But let me ask, a) does this discredit Arab teams as a whole or just mostly Saudi Arabia during that period when political tensions were high and b) do other parts of the world also treat Iran poorly, like the Canada example I brought up, or the Nike sanctions

2) The negative football tactics are part of football. Teams playing for a draw or that are worse will do it. We have even done it against stronger teams. Watch the Roma Leverkusen game, where Roma was on the ground half the time- Mourinho's dark arts style. This is part of the modern game, and unfortunately, top teams need to find a way around it to win.

3) Similar incidents have happened in Iran toward Arab teams. We can go down the list. Also we've given poor accommodations to visiting teams too, like S. Korea in 2009, which created the conflict between CQ and Cho, it wasn't an innocuous incident on our part.

Overall, you have good points and I don't dispute some of the them. But I don't think one can say Arab teams are inherently one way or another. Playing against Oman, UAE or Palestine now is different than playing against Bahrain in the early 2000s. Our recent qualifiers against Arab teams was not bad. I don't recall any of them doing anything malicious in the eight matches we had against them (Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, UAE).

Some of their penalties during the campaign were indeed. Some should not have been. There's no myth. Factually Saudi did receive the most penalties in Asian Cup qualifying two world cups in a row.

See the first penalty in this video. They called a handball for no clear reason for a player whose hand is attached to their body, giving Saudi a lifeline. Iran would never get that call in a million years.

Anyway, Do not put me in the camp of "arab hater" when I'm just talking about football. Since I started following football there have been an incredible amount of instances I have seen Arab teams try to discredit or harm the Iranian team through negative play/antics. This is something I have never seen from S Korea/Japan/ Uzbekistan etc. It's not an imaginary thing, even Azmoun referred to it when we beat Qatar 2-0 at the death in WCQ at Azadi when he said "Ina ke football balad nistan faghat oftadan".

1) Never forget the Bahrain-Iran 2001 game with them flying the Saudi flag after the game. Also depends on what you believe really happened that day when we collapsed against a Bahrain team.

2) There have been multiple games where an Iranian team has flown to Bahrain/Saudi/UAE and we have been systematically mistreated. Many of our ACL teams have been stuck at the airport for 10+ hours for "security checks" when you know exactly what statistics not based on emotion say. One time in Saudi Arabia, Persepolis was literally seen practicing in the hotel hallway instead of being allowed access to a field.

3) Our players have been subject to abuse in the form of objects such as water bottles being thrown at them and the national anthem(for whichever regime) jeered. This has happened multiple times and they tend to play more violently in these games against us.

4) Let's just make a note of the grassrolling antics all over the years.


These footballing antics come from a place of footballing inferiority which is why frankly most all Arab(non N. Africa) football ties are dreary affairs and their players only gain wings playing against us. I'm grateful for Qatar doing what they did for us in the WC but on the field the antics stay the same and if we run into CQ's Qatar, I bet there will be no change.

Just a note, these things I say are not only Iranian fans but among fans of other teams in their respective confederations. A lot of US fans I speak to and have seen myself, they hate being a part of CONCACAF because every team besides Mexico and Canada try to play dull, borderline violent/abuse games with questionable refereeing against the US when they go to play abroad. Most of those teams accused in that regard are Honduras/El Salvador/ Costa Rica. There's nothing racist about this, its literally the opinion of a fanbase.

Right now the only Arab teams that we learn anything playing against would be Saudi and Qatar. The rest should count as charity work. We don't learn much against CAFA nations either but have a chance to atleast work on linkup play. We should not mix politics and sports. Based on the FOOTBALLING behavior of those teams I will admit it, I would find it enjoyable ragging on their teams with high effort, big scoreline wins the way Mexico hopes to vs CONCACAF's central American teams.

I'm hoping for a drubbing of Palestine and UAE.

[perspolis#1]

The penalty that you clipped is a penalty (thank you at least for providing some evidence). It's a penalty because the player is sliding in to make an attempt on the ball, but uses his upper arm as a barrier to block the shot. In these cases, the lower support arm is fine - but since the contact is with his upper arm, it is an offense and YC for SPA, which was this defender's second yellow. Correct decision.

1) I don't dispute any of the examples you brought up. The airport incidents are discrimination. But let me ask, a) does this discredit Arab teams as a whole or just mostly Saudi Arabia during that period when political tensions were high and b) do other parts of the world also treat Iran poorly, like the Canada example I brought up, or the Nike sanctions

2) The negative football tactics are part of football. Teams playing for a draw or that are worse will do it. We have even done it against stronger teams. Watch the Roma Leverkusen game, where Roma was on the ground half the time- Mourinho's dark arts style. This is part of the modern game, and unfortunately, top teams need to find a way around it to win.

3) Similar incidents have happened in Iran toward Arab teams. We can go down the list. Also we've given poor accommodations to visiting teams too, like S. Korea in 2009, which created the conflict between CQ and Cho, it wasn't an innocuous incident on our part.

Overall, you have good points and I don't dispute some of the them. But I don't think one can say Arab teams are inherently one way or another. Playing against Oman, UAE or Palestine now is different than playing against Bahrain in the early 2000s. Our recent qualifiers against Arab teams was not bad. I don't recall any of them doing anything malicious in the eight matches we had against them (Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, UAE).

1) When it is more than one country with repetitive behaviors it does not paint a good image for them. Sure we have had a handful of encounters with Jordan and Oman that have been fine but the majority of our encounters vs UAE, Bahrain, Saudi, Iraq have been.. less than cordial and not just in a footballing rivalry. I guess we will have an answer when Iran hopefully qualifies to the 2026 edition and will be hosted in Canada and the US. Then came the push of these Arabs to prevent Iran from playing at home due to "danger". On the other hand, we have played world cup qualifiers on days when literal prime ministers were bombed(Lebanon), or on mudfields(Syria).

2) Negative antics are indeed a part of football, but this specific brand is only seen against us. I have never seen them try to get Korean/Japanese players red carded or playing like that between themselves. At least Mourinho is consistent. These teams have been playing like this before Mourinho ever won the CL with Porto....

3) Cho's argument was that the facilities were poor which is a failing of IFF having anything for themselves. I have never heard any chants against Korean players like that.

4) Obviously football should advance but sometimes these teams do hit default settings against us. I'd say maybe they change, but until very recently UAE was still fielding Ismael Matar