TEHRAN – Esteghlal football club have fired general manager Ahmad Saadatmand on Wednesday.

Saadatmand’s firing comes one day after he made a strange revelation about the team’s players.

In a video message, Saadatmand had criticized some Esteghlal players for indiscipline and promised that he would reform the club.

“I am sorry to say that some of our players slept until noon and came down to eat breakfast at 1pm in Doha. Why should a player be active on social media four hours after midnight? Why should a player bring shisha pipe to Doha?  I will surely fine the players who have violated the rules,” Saadatmand had said.

“Esteghlal are a cultural club and about 30 million fans hope that their players do their best onto the field but some of them are active on social media four hours after midnight. As long as I am here, I have zero tolerance for these misbehaviors. I want to reform the club’s structure,” he added.