TABNAK’s exclusive interview with ex-Iranian soccer star Ali Daei

Ex-soccer star Daei blasts building stadium in Iraq instead of putting Iran in priority

Iran's all-time leading scorer Ali Daei slammed building soccer stadium in Iraq using Iranian contractors, saying the potential should be used inside the country instead.

News ID: 5906

Date: 01 February 2025 - 16:33

TABNAK, Feb 01: “Constructing stadiums in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria is not a good job as mentioned by some soccer managers in their resumes,” Daei told TABNAK in an exclusive interview, lambasting Iran’s use of local potential and capabilities in other countries.

"First of all, we should consider Iran’s dignity,” he said.

His remarks came after Iranian Minister of Sports and Youth Ahmad Donyamali has already confirmed that the country’s contracting companies have built a soccer stadium in Iraq.

However, Donyamali had said that Iran has received money in return for building the sports facility, and rejected reports that Iran done the same thing in Lebanon and Syria.

Daei further said that national Iranian soccer players were cursed inside the same stadium built by Iran in the Iraqi City of Basra.

Former Iranian striker also slammed poor quality of Iran’s Azadi Stadium artificial turf, saying foreign players were shooting the surface which went viral all over internet which damaged the country’s dignity.