Sports Min. Slams UAE For Distortion Of PGˈs Name

Berlin, June 1, IRNA – Iranian Sports and Youth Minister Mohammad Abbasi here Thursday evening slammed act of United Arab Emirates Soccer Federation in using forged name for the Persian Gulf to refer to its national football league. Speaking to IRNA on the sidelines of the 5th International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials in Berlin, Germany, he said that the honorable reality of Persian Gulf is unchangeable for good. Describing the United Arab Emirates Soccer Federationˈs move as improper, he expressed hope that the country would rectify its mistake as soon as possible. Referring to pivotal role of sports in international peace, he stressed that sports should not be used to advance political purposes. In related news, Head of the Legal Committee and Regulations of Iranˈs Football Federation Houshang Nasirzadeh said the country will soon file a complaint against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for using a fake name for Persian Gulf in the title of its soccer league. In a political move banned by both FIFA and AFC rules, the UAE misnamed the Persian Gulf as the A-r-a-b-i-a-n Gulf as the new title of its soccer league, Nasirzadeh said. The UN has sent a circular to all 186 countries of the world in 1995, stressing that they must use the term ˈPersian Gulfˈ when referring to the waterway, Nasirzadeh added. All countries must comply with the circular, said Nasirzadeh, adding that using other names except for the Persian Gulf runs counter to the UN circular and is a clear violation of the FIFAˈs statute, the Iranian students news agency reported. ˈIranˈs Football Federation will object to the fake naming in the next two days. It will send a letter to the FIFA ethics committee. It regards the UAEˈs behavior as politically-tainted and racist,ˈ he added. Historically and internationally known as ˈPersian Gulfˈ, the body of water is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. The ˈPersian Gulfˈ is 989 kilometers long with Iran covering most of the Northern coast. It is about 56 kilometers wide at its narrowest in the Strait of Hormuz. The International Hydrographic Organization also refers to it as the ˈPersian Gulfˈ. To study the historical roots of the ˈPersian Gulfˈ, Iran has held several international scientific conferences in which researchers from the most reputable academic centers worldwide unanimously agreed that the body of water has been referred to as the Persian Gulf throughout history. However, some regional and hostile western countries continue to distort historical facts by misnaming the ˈPersian Gulfˈ, in an organized attempt to steal the true identity of the Persian Gulf, but to no avail./end