Esteghlal deserves to win the championship/Tajernia's irony: Because of Persepolis, they banned the elimination cup

The chairman of Esteghlal's board of directors believes that the leadership, the results of the direct matches and the status of the contenders show that the Blues deserved to be announced as the champion of the semi-final league.

According to "Varzeh Se", determining the title of the champion of the Premier League last season is still one of the main demands of Esteghlal managers and fans. The Blues were at the top of the table when the tournament was suspended and were introduced as Iran's first team to the Asian competition, but their championship has not yet been officially announced.

Ali Taghernia said about Esteghlal's right to receive the trophy: "Esteghlal has the conditions and the right to be a champion, because it was a champion team. This team was ranked first and was chosen as the first team to participate in Asia. Our serious opponents have been on the decline in the last two weeks, while we have picked up results and won our two matches. In the head-to-head match, we had defeated Tractor and Sepahan, who were our closest contenders, in the half-season. All the conditions were available for Esteghlal's championship."

Rejecting the claim of other teams for the championship, he said: "No other team was in a situation to make such a claim. The most important thing is that in the elimination cup, all the contending teams at the top of the table were eliminated and Esteghlal was the only team left. We should be a little fair and when we are in the position of judgment, we should examine all the circumstances together. On paper, it can be said that the 8th team also has a chance to win the championship, and on paper, anything can happen, but the existing reality must be considered."

In another part of his speech, the Acting CEO of Esteghlal criticized the way some media treated Iran's representatives in the Asian Games and said: "There is a fundamental issue and unfortunately, sometimes in some media, recognizing national interests is a serious problem. We see that when there are criticisms of the national team, sometimes they deal with the critics harshly."

He continued: "There should be support for the national team. All of us are passionate about the national team and seek to support it, but it cannot be formed in one breath. Esteghlal, Tractor and Golgohar are now Iran's representatives in Asian club competitions, and their success is equally important."

Referring to Esteghlal's recent results, Tajernia said: "The reality is that Esteghlal is more unloved. This club is the oldest club in the country and has won the most honors for Iran. In the past weeks, when Omid's team and our national team did not get the results they should have, Esteghlal has gained prestige in Asia."

He added: "Estiqlal is playing against Qatari and Saudi teams in a situation where they have spent tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on their teams. It is not too much to expect that in such a situation, the success of Iran's representative will be given proper attention and support, and the issues that have been discussed many times will not be prioritized."