TEHRAN – Italian coach Andrea Stramaccioni is no longer the coach of Esteghlal football team, the Iranian club said in a statement.

Stramaccioni left the Iranian popular football team on Dec. 8 after the club failed to transfer his salary over the U.S. sanctions.

Due to such problems, Esteghlal had been forced to transfer his wage through multiple bank accounts, belonging to several individuals in Europe. This reportedly led to the partial closure of Stramaccioni’s bank account in Italy over money laundering charges.

The Italian coach received part of his unpaid salary after the representative of an Iranian bank gave him a check at Iran’s Embassy in Rome, but he didn’t return to Tehran and wasted the time.

On Thursday, Esteghlal announced that they’ve ended their relationship with Stramaccioni after six months.

Under stewardship of Stramaccioni, Esteghlal had moved up top of the table after about four years but the team have earned four points from the past three matches, leaving the Blues in the third place.

Esteghlal have a busy schedule in the coming months since the Blues have to play in AFC Champions League play-offs as well as Hazfi Cup and Iran league.