ANGRY INTER BOSS ABANDONS GAME IN TEHRAN

AKI - An angry Massimo Moratti, president of Italian Serie A champions Internazionale, abandoned a match in Tehran after authorities enforcing a ban on women attending games in the Islamic Republic stopped his his wife and daughter from entering the stadium. According to the semi-official Iranian newsagency Fars, Moratti who travelled to Iran to explore the possibility of opening football schools was scheduled to attend a game between the capital's top two teams, Esteghhal and Saipa, on Sunday.

But after after arguing with officials who told hims his wife and daughter would not be allowed to watch the game, Moratti left the stadium.

In April last year President Mahmud Ahmadinejad temporarily lifted the ban on women attending men's sporting events in place since the establishment of the Islamic republic in 1979. However, the president subsequently reversed his decision citing the need to create facilities that would separate male and female spectators at games.