TEHRAN – Ehsan Osuli, Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI)’s Board of Directors spokesperson says that postponement of the Federation’s General Assembly was an arbitrary decision made by the federation General Secretary Hassan Kamranifar.

The football federation’s website had announced that the General Assembly would not be held on Tuesday for non-compliance with the law but it was held Tuesday morning at the IRIB International Conferences Hall in Tehran.

Members of the FFIRI Assembly elected Taj as the new football federation president. He won the three-candidate race with 51 votes. The football federation's acting president Mirshad Majedi earned 25 votes, and Azizollah Mohammadi finished in third place with four votes.

It was chaotic midnight before the presidential election of the FFIRI. Just hours before the general assembly started, it was postponed for "non-compliance with the law," as the football federation's official website announced.

“None of the members of the FFIRI Board of Directors were informed of the cancellation or postponement of the General Assembly. The decision was made by Kamranifar.

“We immediately organized an extraordinary and urgent meeting at 4 a.m. We asked Kamranifar for his decision's proof, reasons, and documents. After the discussions we had in the meeting, the board of directors concluded that the General Assembly meeting must be held as planned,” he added.

Taj replaced Shahaboddin Azizi Khadem, who was removed from the presidency of IRIFF in February, a year after he had been appointed president.

After the FFIRI's presidential election, the Secretary General of the football federation submitted his resignation to the new president, Mehdi Taj.

Kamranifar had been appointed the Secretary General of the Federation by Azizi Khadem.

He remained in his position when Mirshad Majdi was selected as the FFIRI acting president on Feb. 17, 2022.