TEHRAN - President of Iran Football Federation (IFF) Ali Kaffashian apologized to the Iranian people over a New Year greeting email sent to Israel’s football federation.

Director of IFF foreign relations’ office Mohammad-Mansour Azimzadeh Ardebili inadvertently sent a New Year greeting message to his Israeli counterpart and was forced to resign because of it.
“It was a big mistake sending an email to Israel football federation, however I am sure the director of the foreign relations’ office didn’t do it on purpose,” Kaffashian said.
“IFF sends New Year greeting messages to all member federations of the world football governing body FIFA except the football federation of the Zionist regime. Nonetheless, some senior officials believe the email was sent intentionally,” the IFF president added.
Iran does not acknowledge the sovereignty of Israel and Iranian athletes are in no way allowed to compete against Israeli teams in international tournaments, including the Olympics