The Iran Football Federation has suspended five people for smoking hookah: two members of the Persepolis team and three members of the national under-22 football team.
The Mehr News Agency reports that the head of the national under-22 football team along with the analyst and physician of the team have been suspended from sports-related activities. Payam Sadeghian and Mohsen Mosalman, two top Persepolis team players who had high hopes of participating in the World Cup, have also been suspended.
The report indicates that the national under-22 football team that is in training for the Asian Championships was on Kish Island last week for preliminary games with South Korea. Two players and three members of the technical staff reportedly engaged in smoking hookah in the hotel.
In light of the bad press, the head of Iran’s Football Federation called for a board of enquiry to investigate the matter.
The suspended players will not be allowed to accompany the national under-22 football team to the Asian Championships.
Some reports indicate, however, that the two suspended players were not involved in the incident that occurred in Kish.
