Iranian Persepolis’ Players Disqualified For ‘Immoral’ Goal Celebration

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Two Iranian footballers have felt the wrath of the country’s national federation for “immoral” on-field behaviour which included one player pinching the other’s bottom, Iranian state television revealed.

Defender Mohammad Nosrati was suspended for an “indefinite period” after YouTube pictures of a live televised match showed him pinching the bottom of Persepolis teammate Sheys Rezaei during a goal celebration against rivals Damash Gilan.

In another YouTube video Rezaei is shown hugging another, unidentified teammate to celebrate Persepolis’s winning goal in the final minutes of a 3-2 win.

Rezaei suffered the same fate as Nosrati as Iranian football officials took a dim view of the players’ intimate approach to celebrating goals.

“Nosrati and Rezaei have been suspended for an indefinite period from all football-related activities for their immoral behaviour,” said the federation’s disciplinary chief Ismail Hasanzadeh, quoted by Iranian state television.

Both players have also been suspended by Tehran-based Persepolis, which is backed financially by the government, and have been ordered to pay fines of 500 million rials (around $40,000) each.

In recent years the Iranian federation has toughened the rules governing on-field behaviour including sanctioning the use of foul language by players and spectators, AFP reported.

PanARMENIAN

PanARMENIAN Network is the first Armenian online news and analytical agency and one of the most cited Armenian informational resources worldwide.

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