Iranian football star Ali Karimi has been reinstated in the national squad after intervention from no less than President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the grandson of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, media reported Sunday.
Karimi, a former Bayern Munich midfielder nicknamed the “Asian Maradona”, had been dropped after launching a bitter attack on the Iranian football federation which he accused of having no planning.
But demands from football fan Ahmadinejad and Khomeini's most prominent living descendant, his grandson Hassan Khomeini, have prompted the federation to reverse its decision, the ISNA news agency reported.
The tumult comes ahead of Iran's World Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates in Tehran on Monday, a must win game for the Team Melli after a sluggish start to its campaign.
Karimi is unlikely to play as he is injured but national coach Ali Daei has said he will be welcomed back into the squad.
“The federation has definitely pardoned Ali Karimi. Whether he is part of the team depends on coaching decisions,” ISNA quoted Iranian football federation official Mehdi Taj as saying.
Ahmadinejad gave the order on Friday after he visited the team's training camp.
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Karimi, who currently plays for Al-Qatar had said: “The Iranian football federation is a federation without any appropriate plans and we are witnessing that Iranian football is moving backwards.”
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