TEHRAN – Jafar Samiei was appointed as Persepolis football club General Manager.

He replaced Mehdi Rasoul-Panah who was working as the club acting general manager from March.

Rasoul-Panah was forced to retire after a video of him insulting Persepolis player and coach went viral on social media.

Under his management, Persepolis club paid former coach Branko Ivankovic’s debt and the team won Iran Professional League title for the fourth time in a row.

Persepolis also booked their spot in the 2020 AFC Champions League final.

However, Persepolis defenders Shoja Khalilzadeh and Mohammad Naderi left the team ahead of the Iran league and ACL final and it left the fans furious.

Samiei most recently served as Director of Security of Iran’s Sports Ministry. He appointed former Persepolis defender Ebrahim Shakouri as the club’s executive director.

Shakouri has most recently worked as Iran football federation secretary general.