The fate of last season's Twenty-Fifth League of Iranian football regarding the championship trophy for Esteghlal has been clarified. Mohammad Hasanvand, the Chairman of the Regulations Drafting Committee of the Football Federation, has stated that awarding the championship trophy to Esteghlal does not seem legal under the current circumstances. Meanwhile, Esteghlal, as the leader of the table, considers itself deserving of the championship.
Legal Challenges in Iranian Football
The issue began when the Twenty-Fifth League ended without a complete schedule due to the special conditions created in the country and the suspension of matches. This situation turned the discussion of the championship and the awarding of the trophy to Esteghlal into one of the major challenges in Iranian football, especially since the competition regulations did not have a specific provision for such a situation.
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Iranian football faced a legal vacuum in the face of these emergency conditions. This vacuum not only affected the championship issue but also created ambiguity regarding Asian quotas and the status of relegated teams. In this context, Esteghlal, as the leading team, has repeatedly called for the trophy to be awarded.
New Regulations and Determining the Champion's Fate
Recently, the discussion of awarding the trophy to Esteghlal has returned to the forefront of Iranian football news. In this regard, the Football League Organization has taken steps to draft a specific regulation for force majeure situations. This regulation for the first time outlines the mechanism for determining rankings and champions in the event of match suspensions.
According to the proposed text of this regulation, in the event of a season suspension, criteria such as holding at least 75% of matches, average points per match, and in some cases goal difference and head-to-head results are considered for determining rankings and champions. Additionally, the League Organization may replace it with a fairer method under specific conditions.
However, the important point is that this regulation is intended to be applied from the current season and cannot be extended to the case of the Twenty-Fifth League. Hasanvand has also explicitly stated that due to the absence of previous regulations for such situations, awarding the trophy to Esteghlal at this time is not legal.
These statements have effectively clarified the fate of last season's championship trophy; Esteghlal cannot receive this trophy under the current circumstances. However, this does not mean the complete end of the legal and administrative case, as in cases where there is a legal vacuum, the Federation's Board of Directors has the authority to make decisions. But until such a decision is made, there is no legal basis for awarding the trophy to Esteghlal.
The members of the Board of Directors have also clearly stated that they oppose such a decision to declare Esteghlal as champions, and thus there will be no news of the blue team's championship.
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