We need to wake up ….

[Hosseini]

Playing for any jersey outside of Iran is terrible IMO. I was born and raised in USA and if I was ever good enough, would never dream of playing for the US. Iran first, despite all the problems.

[DR Strangemoosh]

Funny enough I have worn Brazilian and Argentinian colors. I like their teams and their football. Many people of many countries wear other national colors. If they wore it to an Iran game then they were either short of shirts or thoughtless.

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Fair enough, I've worn Brazil shirt for their copa america and world cups after TM is out (not Argentina though - I like them but can't support them after my 2014 Belo horizonte experience with their completely silent fans (until that last minute)..

I've personally worn Iran polo shirts, legofish's casualwear or the actual shirt when I've travelled to watch Iran play. I never quite understood seeing fellow forumites here wearing the shirts/hats of other countries.

[koorosh]

Playing for any jersey outside of Iran is terrible IMO. I was born and raised in USA and if I was ever good enough, would never dream of playing for the US. Iran first, despite all the problems.

Imagine a football player born in Iran was a generational talent but also Bahai and was never invited to TM. Should that person give up on their aspirations to play in the world cup, or should they migrate to another country which would give them the opportunity to fight for a place in their national team?

What about gay athletes who are found out... should they never compete in the Olympics because their country of birth discriminates against them?

We had a generational talent who became a persona non grata in IR and never got another chance...Mojahed Khaziravi...if he had a chance to play for some other team... should he give it up?

Suppose you were an incredible sports talent but the Islamic Republic did not want you or you did not want the Islamic Republic...the idea of being forced to fast or meeting the Iranian president was repulsive to you... should you not go to the Olympics for your country of birth instead of Iran?

Although you want Iran...you may not want the Islamic Republic or they may not want you. By not wearing another jersey, you will hurt yourself and let them win too!



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[PSGman#19]

Whatever the country internal, external and foreigner uncessant effort to make Iranians distant from their country, I will never fall fall in this trap even if I reckon it is hard sometimes.

Playing world cup with another NT than Iran is absolutely meaningless. Personally I have absolutely no interest following a world cup without Iran and I wish more iranians to be like that. I didn't watch any Euro 2021 games except the final and 10min in and out of QF and SF, just out of little curiosity.

As said before, TM is my first option and my 2nd option is to have no international career (like Benzema had during most of his career) in case of emergency back up.

Fulfilling dreams and making money with clubs is more than enough to even consider NT switch.

[Hosseini]

The hypothetical you're bringing up is different here. If there was a choice presented with options, I would pick Iran. Obviously, if a player was a discriminated minority and blacklisted from the government for whatever reason, that's a different issue. Then Iran wouldn't be an option for them. However, there's precedent for minorities playing for the NT and even captaining us: Ando.

Hazbavi has options: Iran, or it seems, due to CQ's recruiting efforts, Qatar. Picking Qatar would be a sad disgrace.

Imagine a football player born in Iran was a generational talent but also Bahai and was never invited to TM. Should that person give up on their aspirations to play in the world cup, or should they migrate to another country which would give them the opportunity to fight for a place in their national team?

What about gay athletes who are found out... should they never compete in the Olympics because their country of birth discriminates against them?

We had a generational talent who became a persona non grata in IR and never got another chance...Mojahed Khaziravi...if he had a chance to play for some other team... should he give it up?

Suppose you were an incredible sports talent but the Islamic Republic did not want you or you did not want the Islamic Republic...the idea of being forced to fast or meeting the Iranian president was repulsive to you... should you not go to the Olympics for your country of birth instead of Iran?

Although you want Iran...you may not want the Islamic Republic or they may not want you. By not wearing another jersey, you will hurt yourself and let them win too!



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[persiangodfather]

I dont blame them

[koorosh]

The hypothetical you're bringing up is different here. If there was a choice presented with options, I would pick Iran. Obviously, if a player was a discriminated minority and blacklisted from the government for whatever reason, that's a different issue. Then Iran wouldn't be an option for them. However, there's precedent for minorities playing for the NT and even captaining us: Ando.

Hazbavi has options: Iran, or it seems, due to CQ's recruiting efforts, Qatar. Picking Qatar would be a sad disgrace.

I was replying to your hypothetical...which was "if I was good enough, I would never play for USA". And you see, Khaziravi was not a hypothetical scenario. Nor were any of the other scenarios I raised. I was attempting to show that playing under a different flag is not always "terrible". In fact it is not "terrible" in most cases. In your case, one could argue that your preference to play for Iran over the country that has given your parents shelter and you much opportunity is terribly unkind.

Our players have to kiss Akhoond asses to remain NT players...an unfortunate truth. You speak about a choice and the choice for those of us who have a dual citizenship is really this...are you willing to debase yourself and go and sit with Raisi or Ahmadinejad or some other person who abuses your people so that you be allowed to play for Iran...or play for a country that does not exact that kind of debasement.

The point I made earlier is that IR will make sure that you know that you are playing for the Islamic Republic of Iran, not the people of Iran...and by doing so, you expose yourself to cries of "bisharaf" by the very same people, however unfair that might appear.

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[Hosseini]

Koorosh jan, I think that playing for a country in which you have no cultural connection, like Hazbavi's case, seems quite horrible. If Hazbavi were to play for Qatar I would condemn that decision, similar to Qatar recruiting other foreign-based players. Many of the players on our national team are critical of the government. Being a government lackey is not a prerequisite for being a TM player. Therefore, there's no real suggestion that I would have to kiss any government official's ass if I didn't want to in order to get playing time. Plenty of examples of dissidents in TM, no need to go through the list, but we can if you want.

Yes, the US has given me great opportunities and shelter, but the body count of the US in terms of its own crimes against humanity is far higher than Iran. Actually, monumentally higher. Should that mean people shouldn't wear the jersey of the US national team? I won't get into further politics since I don't want to make this a political thread, but I'll leave it at that. Playing for the national team does not mean you condone the actions of the state you are representing in any way shape or form.

I was replying to your hypothetical...which was "if I was good enough, I would never play for USA". And you see, Khaziravi was not a hypothetical scenario. Nor were any of the other scenarios I raised. I was attempting to show that playing under a different flag is not always "terrible". In fact it is not "terrible" in most cases. In your case, one could argue that your preference to play for Iran over the country that has given your parents shelter and you much opportunity is terribly unkind.

Our players have to kiss Akhoond asses to remain NT players...an unfortunate truth. You speak about a choice and the choice for those of us who have a dual citizenship is really this...are you willing to debase yourself and go and sit with Raisi or Ahmadinejad or some other person who abuses your people so that you be allowed to play for Iran...or play for a country that does not exact that kind of debasement.

The point I made earlier is that IR will make sure that you know that you are playing for the Islamic Republic of Iran, not the people of Iran...and by doing so, you expose yourself to cries of "bisharaf" by the very same people, however unfair that might appear.

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[Under Lahaf]

Playing for any jersey outside of Iran is terrible IMO. I was born and raised in USA and if I was ever good enough, would never dream of playing for the US. Iran first, despite all the problems.

I understand your argument but who are we to judge others? We are sitting comfortably here in the US, our children have a future and you and I can go to the beach with family and wives / daughters and girlfriends enjoy the water and life without any difficulties and certainly don't live on $300 income

And when we complain we don't end up getting blind or hung. Most people (like you and I) have their families futures as their priority nr 1 and when they end up in a deep hole intentionally built and kept deep by a brutal regime then they will grab any rope which might pull them out of that situation.

It is not for me to judge any of these players, I can certainly judge Ronaldo and Messi but not these players!

[PSGman#19]

I understand your argument but who are we to judge others? We are sitting comfortably here in the US, our children have a future and you and I can go to the beach with family and wives / daughters and girlfriends enjoy the water and life without any difficulties and certainly don't live on $300 income

And when we complain we don't end up getting blind or hung. Most people (like you and I) have their families futures as their priority nr 1 and when they end up in a deep hole intentionally built and kept deep by a brutal regime then they will grab any rope which might pull them out of that situation.

It is not for me to judge any of these players, I can certainly judge Ronaldo and Messi but not these players!

What playing for TM has to do with going to the beach with gf, future of children etc..? Don't think Dejagah, Gucci or Hajsafi/Ansarifard has any problems with all these

[Under Lahaf]

What playing for TM has to do with going to the beach with gf, future of children etc..? Don't think Dejagah, Gucci or Hajsafi/Ansarifard has any problems with all these

If one can get citizenship and money by leaving the TM then it has everything to do with it, my point is related to those who are stuck within the borders not the rest.

[PSGman#19]

If one can get citizenship and money by leaving the TM then it has everything to do with it, my point is related to those who are stuck within the borders not the rest.

But in this case, if you point is about Hazbavi, he don't need to get a citizenship for a country he has no ties. With a minimal career success, he would live in Iran like a king. And if it's not enough, the money and his club career get can get him in others places so easily.

[Hosseini]

I understand your argument but who are we to judge others? We are sitting comfortably here in the US, our children have a future and you and I can go to the beach with family and wives / daughters and girlfriends enjoy the water and life without any difficulties and certainly don't live on $300 income

And when we complain we don't end up getting blind or hung. Most people (like you and I) have their families futures as their priority nr 1 and when they end up in a deep hole intentionally built and kept deep by a brutal regime then they will grab any rope which might pull them out of that situation.

It is not for me to judge any of these players, I can certainly judge Ronaldo and Messi but not these players!

For those that face discrimination, a serious lack of opportunities and the like, this is not for them. Although, how does this apply to the situation of Hazbavi? Like Psg said, he can play very comfortably for Iran given his potential and the notoriety he's already received. How much money is "enough" when he is already playing for a Qatari club?

[Babak_Shirazi]

I understand your argument but who are we to judge others? We are sitting comfortably here in the US, our children have a future and you and I can go to the beach with family and wives / daughters and girlfriends enjoy the water and life without any difficulties and certainly don't live on $300 income

And when we complain we don't end up getting blind or hung. Most people (like you and I) have their families futures as their priority nr 1 and when they end up in a deep hole intentionally built and kept deep by a brutal regime then they will grab any rope which might pull them out of that situation.

It is not for me to judge any of these players, I can certainly judge Ronaldo and Messi but not these players!

Well I just came back from Iran and me and my family were enjoying ourselves on the nice beaches of the Persian Gulf, but yeah in your mind people in Iran probably don‘t enjoy themselves and only have a sad life because Iran International and Manoto said so 😂 of course the incomes should be higher but I think also in a lot of other countries a lot of people live from paycheck to paycheck so I don‘t get your point?! If you feel bad about it you can travel to the country of your origin and help out the economy with your dollars 😉

[PSGman#19]

I was wondering something, even if it doesn't apply to our football players.
We had a tennis player Arghavan Rezaei who represented France in the professional competition (without hejab) but also represented Iran in Islamic games after (or some BS like this), even gave her racket to Ahmadinejad or Khamenei after the French open.

In her case, what did prevent her to represent Iran from the start or later in her professional career, as she didn't have any problem with Iran after playing unveiled before? She also didn't have any support from the French federation