TEHRAN - Gol Gohar Sirjan football team were issued three 3-0 losses by the Disciplinary Committee of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (DCFFIRI) for using an ineligible player. However, the decision has been challenged by the other clubs and experts.

The Committee punished Gol Gohar for fielding Eric Baboue Bagnama, a Gabonese player, in the opening rounds of the Iran Professional League (IPL).

According to the Disciplinary Committee, the player has not met the requirement of appearing in at least four or more international matches with his national team. It is a new regulation set by the Iran Football League Organization at the beginning of the current IPL season.

Therefore, the Sirjan-based team, which had a good run at the start of the season and were considered among the favorites, were handed 3-0 losses for their matches against Sepahan, Paykan, and Esteghlal. The verdict means that Gol Gohar lost seven points in the table of IPL.

However, the disciplinary committee's decision has been challenged by Gol Gohar club, other IPL teams, and several football legal experts.

Hooshang Nasirzadeh, former head of the legal committee of the Iran football federation, shared his view with Tehran Times.

“All of the football regulations are international and apply uniformly in all countries of the world. The Iranian football's transfer rules are also the exact translation of the FIFA's Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players known as RSTP.

“The disciplinary statutes are also according to FIFA Disciplinary Committee (FDC) rules,” Nasirzadeh said.  

“So, we cannot make new rules and punishments by ourselves and apply them in the country's football. The football league organization has ruled that the players who come to Iranian football must play four national games. If a club fail to meet this requirement and use a player who does not have the declared condition in some games, the rivals must not be awarded 3-0 wins.

“The reason is that it is not according to international regulations, but it is a rule made by our football authorities. Since the transfer documents of the player, such as TMS and ITC, are legally issued, the penalties must include paying fines by the team and banning the use of the player in the next matches. Also, the person or persons who were guilty of determining whether the player played in national team's games should also be fined,” said Nasirzadeh.