Iran reserves right to appeal FIFA decision to sports court

IRNA - Iran's Football Federation Friday said it reserves the right to appeal FIFA's decision banning Iran from all international activities to the international sports court.

The FIFA Emergency Committee composed of the FIFA president and one representative each from the six confederations Thursday decided to suspend the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation (IRIFF) from all international activities due to government interference in football matters and violation of Article 17 of the FIFA governing statute.

In a statement issued Friday, IRIFF said it believes negotiation can help solve problems.

IRIFF added it will make use of all means and measures to remove ambiguities and defend the rights of Iranian football.

The statement also blamed previous federation officials for providing FIFA with inaccurate and misleading information without considering their effects on the Iranian football which led to FIFA's decision.

The Iranian national football coach Amir Qalehnoei told Mehr news agency Friday that Iran's suspension will have a negative impact on the country's football.

The suspension means Iran will not be able to participate in next week's Asian Games in Doha, Qatar (Doha 2006), where it was supposed to defend its champions title in 2006.