Former German top scorer Jurgen Klinsmann angered the Portuguese coach of the Iranian national team, Carlos Queiroz, who called for the 1990 World Cup champion to be dismissed from the FIFA Technical Committee, following his criticism of the national team and its style of play, while the Iranian Football Association returned to the 1982 World Cup scandal to respond. on Klinsmann.

Klinsmann, a member of the seven-member FIFA Technical Study Group analyzing the World Cup currently being held in Qatar, criticized the Iranians' behavior during the late 2-0 win over Wales on Friday in Group B competitions.

And the former coach of Germany and the United States - in a technical analysis of the BBC - talked about a series of errors and the behavior of the Iranian technical staff during the match, considering that this was part of a deliberate strategy to make the opponent "lose his focus."

He said that what happened, "is not by chance. This is all on purpose. This is part of their culture, this is how they play. They exhaust the referee. I have seen the bench (reserve players and team crews) always jump up and disturb the assistant referee and the fourth referee to the side of the field."

He added that the Iranians were "constantly in their (the referees') ears, constantly in their face on the pitch... This is their culture. It makes you lose focus on what is really important to you."

Dear Jurgen;

You took the initiative to call me Carlos, so I believe it is proper to call you Jurgen.

Right?

Even not knowing me personally, you question my character with a typical prejudiced judgment of superiority.


(…) pic.twitter.com/JAq0l7Yp6n

- Carlos Queiroz (@Carlos_Queiroz) November 26, 2022

"a prejudiced stereotype that smacks of superiority"

What Klinsmann (58 years old) said did not go unnoticed by Queiroz, who described what was said by the former top scorer for Inter, Monaco, Bayern Munich and Tottenham as "a disgrace to football".

Queiroz wrote - in a series of tweets on Twitter - "Although you do not know me personally, you question my personality with a prejudiced and superior judgment. No matter how much I respect what I have done on the field, these statements about Iran's culture, the Iranian team and the players are a disgrace to me." Football,” stressing that “no one can harm our integrity.”

Queiroz, the former coach of the Portugal national team, invited Klinsmann to visit the headquarters of the Iranian national team's camp in the World Cup in Qatar "to hear the extent of their love and respect for football, despite the" outrageous" criticism.

But he stipulated the German's resignation from his position in FIFA in order for him to be welcomed among the Iranian players, addressing Klinsmann by saying, "We want to follow with full interest FIFA's decision regarding your position as a member of the technical study group for Qatar 2022. Because it is obvious that we expect you to resign before you visit our camp." .

The Iranian Football Federation entered the line, calling for Klinsmann's resignation, saying - in a statement - today, Sunday: "In addition to many unfortunate considerations regarding the Iranian national team and its staff, Mr. Klinsmann made judgments about Iranian culture," adding that "the Iranian Football Federation Al-Football has already requested clarifications from FIFA, apologies and the removal of Mr. Klinsmann from the Technical Studies Group at FIFA.

And after a severe loss to England 2-6 in the opening round, the Iranian national team returned to the competition for one of the two group cards by defeating Wales with two goals scored in stoppage time.

And "Tim Milli" - who is in the finals affected by the protests taking place in the Islamic Republic - is preparing to meet the United States in a confrontation that bears a political flavor, given the tense relationship between the two countries.

Victory will be the key to qualifying the Iranians for the first time in their history, regardless of the outcome of the second match between England and neighboring Wales.

Klinsmann was one of the pillars of the West Germany national team, which was crowned world champion in 1990 in Italy, before supervising his country's national team in the World Cup, which it hosted in 2006, in which his team finished third.

Then he coached the United States national team between 2011 and 2016 and led them in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Back to the 1982 World Cup scandal

In addition to analyzing the events on the field, the Technical Studies Group, headed by former French coach Arsene Wenger, studies the trends and changes that affect the future of the game and its implications for training coaches and developing talents.

Like Queiroz, the Iranian federation invited Klinsmann to "visit" the national team's camp in Qatar in order to take "a lesson in Persian history and the thousand-year-old values ​​of football and sports."

And the federation added that "Klinsmann, as Germany, will not be judged in the most shameful event in the history of the World Cup; when West Germany and Austria arranged the result of a match" in the 1982 World Cup at the expense of Algeria, in order for them to qualify together for the second round by winning the first 1-0, nor On his “famous showdowns” in the opponent’s penalty area, and not on “any political or historical issue related to his country.”