Iranian coach appeals to FIFA over Nike boycott
Tehran, June 8 : Iran national football team's head coach Carlos Queiroz has called on FIFA to intervene after US sportswear giant Nike said it would not provide shoes to Iranian players in the World Cup in line with American sanctions, media reports said.
"Players get used to their sports equipment, and it's not right to change them a week before such important matches," Press TV quoted Queiroz as saying.
"We call on FIFA to come to our help in this issue," he said.
Iran's first Group B match will be held against Morocco in St. Petersburg on June 15 and Iranian players will have to wear another brand while 60 per cent of all players in the 32-team World Cup will be wearing Nike's shoes.
Nike said its decision was in line with US President Donald Trump's announcement in May to withdraw from Iran's nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on the Islamic republic, Xinhua news agency reported.
The sanctions are to kick in six months after the announcement, but a number of European companies have jumped the gun and already started winding down business in Iran.
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Iran denies ceasefire agreement with Israel, warns response will stop only if attacks cease
Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday dismissed reports of a ceasefire agreement with Israel, stating that no such deal currently exists between the two countries.
In a statement posted on social media, Araghchi said, “As of now, there is NO 'agreement' on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations,” directly contradicting an earlier announcement by the US President, who had claimed that a ceasefire was expected to begin around 0400 GMT.
However, Araghchi indicated that Iran would halt its retaliatory operations if Israel ended its military actions. “If the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards,” he said.
