February 6 – Iranian coach Koosha Delshad has resigned from Brazilian club Piaui following racist abuse.
Delshad had recently arrived as the new manager of Clube Comercial de Paiui, but his debut also became his last match when fans called him a terrorist and said that the coach would put a bomb on the field.
“My intention was to help, but due to the lack of support and the crimes of xenophobia during the 90 minutes in the stadium, I resign from the position in the technical staff of Clube Comercial de Piauí.,” said Delshad (pictured).
“I don’t believe that a coach who takes over a club in the relegation zone with just two days of training, will perform a miracle; nor that he deserves prejudiced and xenophobic insults, such as shouts: ‘Hey, terrorist coach!’ It is unbelievable that these actions started the day before on social media and continued from the first minute of the game by the fans who were next to the substitute bench,” he continued.
“Even knowing the club’s situation, the lack of necessary equipment, I took the managerial role, but I could not imagine that on the day of the game three players would announce that they would not enter the stadium! That’s when I realized that I wasn’t in a professional club, but in a football school.”
Commercial de Piaui play in the first division of the Piauí state championship. Delshad will return to Sao Paulo, where he had been living for the past decade.
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