TEHRAN, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iran could be banned from the international soccer event, the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, over an Iranian law "interfering" in Iran's football federation's independence, Tehran Times daily reported on Saturday.
Based on the law which bans the employment of retirees in the state or public positions, Mehdi Taj, the president of Football Federation of Islamic Republic of Iran, must leave his post.
However, Taj is not going to withdraw his presence at the Iranian federation's headquarters in Tehran and the AFC and FIFA will back him because they have a zero tolerance policy towards any third party's interference in their Member Associations.
According to the AFC and FIFA, the Iranian football federation must maintain its independence and not be affected by the government's interference.
"All Member Associations must fulfil their duties without any third party interference either from the government or the parliament," said a FIFA statement.
Due to the same problem, Iranian soccer clubs Persepolis, Esteghlal, Zoba Ahan and Saipa are in danger of knocking out of the AFC Champions League.
The AFC has already said that they were "closely monitoring the current issues" pertaining to the Iranian football federation.
Iran, the best Asian team in FIFA's rankings, have been drawn with Yemen, Iraq and Vietnam in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
The Iranian national soccer team will open their campaign with a match against Yemen on Jan. 7 in Abu Dhabi.
