TEHRAN – İsmail Kartal, who served as Persepolis’ third coach after Juan Carlos Garrido and later Karim Baghri last season, has parted ways with the Iranian club.

The Turkish coach had hoped to achieve a major success to bring peace of mind to the fans, but he will not return to Tehran due to family reasons.

Unfortunately, as predicted, things did not unfold as expected. Under his leadership, the title-holders finished third in the Iranian league and experienced an early exit in the Hazfi Cup.

Potential candidates to replace Kartal include former China national team head coach Branko Ivankovic and Foolad’s Yahya Golmohammadi.