Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi has requested investigations into what was circulated about the failure of the bags of Iranian football players to be searched at Beirut airport.
On Tuesday, the communication sites were buzzing with pictures showing the arrival of the Iranian national team players to Beirut airport with large numbers of huge bags, before facing Lebanon in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers tomorrow, Thursday.
The pictures showed that each Iranian player had at least 3 large bags in addition to a handbag;
This generated a wave of comments on the communication sites regarding the contents of these bags, in light of the difficult political conditions in Lebanon.
Lebanon is witnessing a sharp political division against the backdrop of military conflicts in the region, especially in Syria and Yemen, and the differences are concentrated between parties supporting the Iranian axis and those opposing it.
Activist Amer Ghandour asked: "Didn't the Iranian team that came to play a match and return to its country draw your attention to the huge amount of bags in its possession? How do you know what's inside?"
On the other hand, sports journalist Rawad Mezher said that "these bags do not contain only the personal belongings of the players, but also carry sports equipment and food components for the players."
Following that uproar, the Minister of Interior today asked the airport security agency to conduct the necessary investigations on this issue, and hand him a detailed report to take appropriate measures in this regard.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of the Interior, Mawlawi's move came "after circulating pictures of foreign football players coming to Beirut, with a large number of bags, and the accompanying comments about not being subjected to baggage inspection procedures upon their arrival at the airport campus."
Iran will visit its Lebanese counterpart tomorrow, Thursday, in the fifth round of the final round of qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.