Sawt Falasteen - Azmoun: Iran's absent talisman unafraid of controversy

Azmoun, 31, is not part of the Iranian squad that has been preparing in Turkey for the World Cup and only a sensational last minute recall would see him join his teammates.

The tournament -- co-hosted by the United States where Iran will play its group matches -- will put the Team Melli under intense scrutiny as a shaky ceasefire holds after five weeks of war between Iran and the US and Israel.

The striker, who currently plays for a club in the UAE, a US ally, faced a backlash in media in the Islamic republic in March during the US-Israeli war after a photograph showed him alongside the ruler of Dubai.

"At a historical turning point, Sardar Azmoun stood on the wrong side," said the pro-government Fars news agency, accusing the player, a racehorse breeder in his spare time, of "betting on the losing horse" in a "gamble that meant missing the World Cup".

An image of Azmoun meeting Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum is still pinned to the top of his Instagram account which has 5.8 million followers.

- 'Not purely on footballing grounds' -

The controversy followed similar uproar in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after Azmoun published messages on social media appearing to support anti-government protests, prompting calls from hardliners although he eventually played.

In a lengthy Instagram post earlier this month, Azmoun appeared to accept his exclusion from the side, wishing his teammates success and hoping they would "bring happiness to the hearts of the Iranian people".

"Wherever I play football, my identity, my heart, and my pride are Iran," he said.

Azmoun's last appearance in for the Team Melli dates back to a March 2025 qualifier against Uzbekistan and his move to the UAE -- whose domestic league does not have the depth of Iran's competition -- counts against him.

But an Iranian vice president, Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh, called in a post on X for Azmoun to be reinstated to the national team.

"It's obviously and fairly accepted that his exclusion was political, not based purely on footballing grounds," said Erfan Hoseiny, a journalist covering Iranian football who co-hosts the Asian Football Show podcast.

"There are several other players who play in the UAE league and have been called up for the squad, some even have worse stats than Azmoun," he told AFP.

Iran's powerful football federation chief Mehdi Taj said this week he was "unaware" of any plans for Azmoun to join the squad.

- 'A child of Iran' -

Born in Gonbad-e Kavus in eastern Iran close to the Turkmenistan border, Azmoun, a member of Iran's Turkic-speaking Turkmen minority, showed his talent early on in local youth sides.

As a teenager he was snapped up by Russian top-flight outfit Rubin Kazan and later played for Rostov and then moved in 2019 to giants Zenit St Petersburg.

In 2022 he moved to German club Bayer Leverkusen, although he spent the 2023-2024 season on loan to AS Roma, and in July 2024 he formally left Bayer to join Shabab Al Ahli Club in Dubai.

He has notched up 91 national team appearances, scoring 57 goals, putting him currently third on Iran's all time list behind the legendary Ali Daei and current star Mehdi Taremi.

Fluent in several foreign languages including Turkish and Russian, Azmoun had revealed in his Instagram post he had received "a very big financial offer from another country" when just 17 and before his call-up to the Iran national side.

"But my only answer was that I am a child of Iran and I want to play for the people of my country and make them happy," he said.

With or without Azmoun, Iran's talented side will now need to shut out the external noise and seek to reward devoted fans in a rare moment that can bring together Iranians inside and outside the country.

"This team is used to high pressure, but this year feels different due to the political climate both internally and externally," said Hoseiny.

N.Awad--SF-PST