TEHRAN - COVID-19 is like a storm which hit the ship of sports - football in particular as the most popular sport around the world. Musa Salamat, Iranian football fan, is one of the storm-hit passengers.

Salamat, 66, has been supporting Tehran based club Persepolis for decades, since he was a child. 

Lodged a bullet in his chest, Salamat is one of Persepolis' most loyal fans and has attended most of his beloved team's matches during the previous years but he is forced to stay at a war veterans sanatorium in Tehran due to coronavirus pandemic.

Despite his physical condition, the wheelchair-bound man never missed a Persepolis match in Tehran, but he suffers from depression after the football fans were forced to stay home due to the COVID-19.
“I’m very heartbroken because the doctors don’t let me to go to my team’s training. I miss my coaches and players,” Salamat told Tehran Times.

He says that loving Persepolis is an indescribable feeling and there are not enough words to describe it. Salamat feels like an islander who lives far away from his hometown.

Iran is home to arguably the region’s most passionate fans but the competitions have been affected by coronavirus and they cannot wait to see their favorite teams.

“I’m tired of being at the nursing home. I need to go out to cheer my team. No one can put himself in my shoes because I'm trapped in a cage for eight months,” he said.

Persepolis have qualified for the 2020 AFC Champions League final for the second time in three years and Musa Salamat hopes the Iranian Reds win the title for the first time ever.

“Persepolis have a difficult task ahead but we must be together. That is what will bring the unity that we need to win the title,” the fan went on to say.

 He has devoted his life to football and Persepolis but he’s very heartbroken because nobody has ever met him in person since COVID-19 lockdowns began in March.

BUT, hope is not lost. Musa Salamat is optimistic about going to the stadiums once again.