Cancellation of federation elections is a sign of weakness; Football case in the judiciary

The representative of the people of Mashhad in the parliament criticized the state of federation elections and said: the Ministry of Sports has failed in establishing coordination between the institutions and forces of the country and the decision-making structure of sports has been weakened.

According to Mehr reporter, Ehsan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the representative of the people of Mashhad in the Islamic Council, expressed his regret over the successive cancellation of sports federations' elections, and considered these events to be a sign of the decline of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, inconsistency between institutions and the rule of tasteful decisions.

Referring to the cancellation of the elections of several federations within a period of about a month, he stated: We are facing a new and unprecedented phenomenon that shows the weakening of the decision-making structure in the country's sports. A situation that is fueled by the lack of clear procedures and inconsistency between the responsible institutions.

Ghazizadeh Hashemi, emphasizing that sports is a cross-sectoral issue, said: "Sports is not only in the hands of the government and the Ministry of Sports, and all three branches of the country have a role in this field." Parliament should also play a more effective role in this field.

Criticizing the performance of the Ministry of Sports in creating coordination between different departments, this member of parliament added: The ministry should have the necessary skill and power to create synergy between the institutions and forces, but it has not been successful in realizing this goal.

He also emphasized the necessity of the participation of municipalities, non-governmental public institutions and non-governmental organizations in the country's sports administration and reminded that sports management is not possible without the interaction and cooperation of the effective institutions of the society.

In summing up his criticisms, Ghazizadeh Hashemi emphasized: If the Ministry of Sports had been successful in creating synergies between different departments, we would not have seen the cancellation of the elections of several federations within a month.

In another part of the conversation with the Arena Online news site, this representative of the Islamic Council stated, referring to the cases of corruption in football and the contract of Mark Wilmots: During the follow-up of the cases of violations in football, the parliament followed the issues with the National Inspection Organization and the cases related to the violators were referred to the judiciary for consideration, and in this way, convictions were also issued.

Ghazizadeh Hashemi said about the case brought against the chairman and some members of the Football Federation's board: It is expected that the judiciary will inform about the proceedings and the outcome of this case within the framework of legal procedures.

Emphasizing the continuation of the parliament's supervision over the performance of sports institutions, he noted: People's representatives do not have any complaints with anyone, and at the same time, the follow-ups are not based on personal enmity. The goal is to protect public rights, deal with violations and demand accountability from the officials of the Ministry of Sports and the Football Federation.

This member of parliament emphasized that the follow-up of management issues and cases related to football should be continued seriously in order to strengthen transparency and accountability in the country's sports management.