“The Iranian people are sitting on a treasure but we do not have stadiums”, said Khiabani on a live TV show.
Khiabani added that there are rich people in Iran who can afford to build stadiums but they refuse to do so because they are critical of the officials. “They are like ‘officials do not give us land and facilities’ [to build stadiums]”, the football commentator said.
Khiabani also cited officials, saying that it will take longer to repair Azadi Stadium in Tehran than to build a new one. He then urged the officials to abandon the repair effort and start constructing a new stadium.
Khiabani’s comments on state TV comes as football matches of Tehrani clubs, most notably the highly popular football clubs of Esteghlal and Persepolis, both in the Persian Gulf Pro League and the AFC Champions League Elite, are held in non-standard stadiums including one near Tehran known as Shahre Quds Stadium.
Officials say the matches are held in pitches other than Azadi Stadium because maintenance work is underway at the 50-year-old stadium.
These remarks follow severe criticism from experts regarding the condition of the football field grass in several cities in Iran, which recently hosted the Asian club competitions. This issue has sparked widespread reactions on social media in Iran.
Additionally, the lack of a VAR (Video Assistant Referee) system in the stadiums has also become problematic.
