Iran's eccentric coach Miroslav Blazevic looks set to quit following his team's failure to qualify for the 2002 World Cup finals. "I can only say that I am sorry," the Croat said. "I understand the fans' feelings and share those feelings. I have become attached to the Iranian team but have to leave now." It is as yet unclear whether Blazevic will carry out his threat to "take a rope and hang myself" from the crossbar of the goal in the event of an Iranian failure to qualify.
Only isolated incidents of vandalism have been reported in Tehran this evening. The electric atmosphere inside the Azadi stadium seemed to be on the brink of violence at one stage of the game, as Iranian fans lit bonfires and let off fireworks around the ground. Fans smashed windows and ripped seats of buses outside the stadium, where one vehicle was set on fire. Several arrests were made but police kept a low profile. Iranian authorities had been surprised by riots following Iran's 3-1 defeat away to Bahrain.
Ironically, Iran's failure to qualify was greeted with relief by security authorities. Soccer is one of the only outlets left for young people to let off steam in the Islamic Republic. Winning tends to provoke intense public demonstrations. Defeats do not generally bring people on to the streets unless they are defeats by a team seen as inferior, as was the case with the Bahrain loss.
The relatively small crowd of 85,000 for today's game reflected the general air of pessimism about the outcome of the play-off, as Ireland were regarded as strong favourites inside Iran after their first-leg victory. Crowds of up to 120,000 fans have been known to cram into the 100,000-capacity Azadi stadium.
Female fans were allowed to watch a soccer match in Iran for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution, although only Irish women were permitted. Many Iranian women are unhappy about being banned from attending games. Officials claim that women are barred to protect them from the bad language and rude gestures of male fans.
Filed by Greg McKevitt
