Asani Case Under AFC Scrutiny; Esteghlal's Declaration and Risk of 3-0 Forfeit!

The case of Yaser Asani and Esteghlal's use of the player, despite several clubs' complaints being dismissed by the Iran Football Federation's disciplinary committee, is under comprehensive review at the Asian Football Confederation.

According to Mehr reporter, Yaser Asani's case and how Esteghlal used this player, despite the rejection of several clubs' complaints in the disciplinary committee of the Iranian Football Federation, is still being investigated by the Asian Football Confederation.

A document that raised new questions

One of the most important parts of this case is the letter that was sent and published by Yaser Asani's lawyer to Esteghlal Club. In this letter, the termination of the contract due to non-payment of the player's demands was raised; The issue that turned into one of the main points of dispute due to the fact that Essain appeared again in Esteghlal's training and matches and the club's announcement that it has a valid contract with this player.

The publication of this letter alone was not the end of the story, because on one hand, the player's legal representatives emphasized on the termination of the contract, and on the other hand, Esteghlal Club announced that they have a contract with this team for the new season and there is no problem in using him.

For AFC, the main issue is whether the published letter led to the valid termination of the contract or whether this action, according to the internal regulations and the status of the contract registration in the league organization, lacks the claimed legal effects in the opinion of Iranian football authorities.

A contradiction that was highlighted by the statement of the head of the disciplinary committee

Another part of the ambiguity of the case comes back to the recent statements of Hassanzadeh, the head of the disciplinary committee of the Football Federation. In a part of his television interview, he announced that there was no termination of the easy contract; The comment that is published next to the letter by this player's lawyer raises an important question.

If the termination of the contract was announced, what was the legal basis for ignoring it? Is the matter only related to the non-registration of the termination in the league organization or that the necessary conditions for it to be recognized as valid were not met in the opinion of the investigating authorities?

In this context, the exact time of sending the letter, the deadlines announced to the club, Esteghlal's response and the status of the contract registration in the league organization have gained special importance and the details are now being accessed and examined.

Complaints of clubs from the disciplinary committee to appeals

The easy presence in Esteghlal's lineup in the early weeks of the season led to protests from several clubs. Mes Shahrbabak, Persepolis, Nasaji and Sepahan were among the clubs that pursued the issue through the disciplinary committee, and Persepolis and Aluminum Arak were also among those protesting the player's contractual status.

After investigating the complaints, the disciplinary committee acquitted Esteghlal and Asani of the charge of using an unauthorized player. However, the dispute over the interpretation of the termination letter and the validity of the player's contract did not end with this decision and the matter was dragged to further legal proceedings.

In the meantime, regarding the status of protests in the appeals committee, a distinction should be made between different cases, and the same issue has been brought about by publishing the news that they have been put on hold due to the entry of AFC into the case.

The important point is that checking the validity of the easy contract in the internal authorities and evaluating his status to participate in competitions under the supervision of AFC are two related issues, but they are separable from the point of view of the authority and the governing regulations.

The published information about the follow-up of the Asian Football Confederation shows that this institution has asked the Iranian Football Federation for an explanation after the complaint of Iranian clubs and the ambiguity about the contractual status of Asahi. The federation's initial response, which included explanations of the disciplinary committee's decision and the internal proceedings, was apparently not enough to end the AFC's questions, and the confederation has asked for more documentation.

Declaration of independence and greater sensitivity of the case

Based on the information received from an informed source in the Asian Football Confederation, the Mehr reporter reports on the media aspects of the easy case, which apparently has become more sensitive due to some points raised in the media and the existence of a confession attributed to Esteghlal Club among the mentioned documents.

Based on this information, the set of documents and statements presented can provide the basis for a more detailed examination of the contractual status of this player; In particular, it should be clarified what the contents of the existing documents have to do with the cancellation claim, the validity of the subsequent contract, and how to use Esteghlal Easi.

The importance of this section for AFC is that if the available documents, contrary to the defenses presented by the club, show that Asahi did not have a valid and reliable contract when participating in the current season of the Premier League and the Asian Elite League, the matter can go beyond a contract dispute and lead to the investigation of the use of an unauthorized player in domestic and Asian competitions.

The exact content of the document, the time of its preparation, the receiving authority and its relationship with the contract cited by Esteghlal are among the points that AFC examines.

One of the most important potential concerns of independence is the implications related to tournament results. If the competent authority verifies that this player played in matches that he was not eligible to participate in according to the regulations, the possibility of changing the result or registering a disciplinary failure for the disputed matches will be raised.

The result of 3-0, which has been raised in some speculations about Esteghlal matches, will be reviewed only if a violation is found and a decision is issued based on the relevant regulations, in which case the Appeals and Disciplinary Committee of the Iranian Football Federation will decide on it after the investigations of the Asian Football Confederation.

On the other hand, if the issue is related to easy participation in Asian competitions, the rules and disciplinary mechanisms of the Asian Football Confederation can be the basis of a separate investigation. For this reason, the separation between possible domestic and Asian consequences seems definitive.

According to Mehdi Taj, the head of the federation, the sensitivity of the case is not limited to the complaint of the clubs and the status of contract registration. This source has informed about the detailed examination of the contractual aspects of the case and the possibility of its independent examination by one of the senior officers of the department related to contracts.

In this framework, the financial issues related to the contract can also be examined if there are evidences and necessary documents, such as whether all the contractual processes have been carried out according to the regulations and whether there is any sign of financial abuse or any illegal payment with the aim of affecting the contract process.

Now, it remains to be seen whether the AFC will implement its definitive decision to impose a heavy fine against Esteghlal Club, such as announcing the result of 3-0 in the Asian Games and banning the player from further matches and a heavy financial fine for the club, or whether they, like the disciplinary committee of the Iranian Federation, consider the easy presence of Esteghlal to be legal and only reduce the financial fines in this regard to the lack of contractual transparency.