Nikbakht banned from World Cup squad

PTV - Tehran's Persepolis striker Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht has been banned from playing in the Iranian national soccer squad for two years.

The order was issued by the disciplinary committee of the Iranian Football Federation (IFF) on Tuesday evening.

The punishment came after Nikbakht failed to accompany his country's national soccer team on a camping trip to Qatar last week.

The player has also been ordered to pay a 100 million rial (almost $10,000) fine.

"I accept the verdict and have no complaints about it," Nikbakht said. "I apologize to all Iranians for the incident and hope to play in the national team again."

Iran, coached by Ali Daei, will face the UAE in its third World Cup qualifying match this afternoon. The two teams drew 0-0 in Tehran in the previous qualification round.

Iran is in Group B of the final Asian qualifying round, competing with Saudi Arabia, North Korea, South Korea and the UAE for a place in the 2010 World Cup.