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AFC - A four-match ban for his now infamous
stamp on Oman's Imad Ali may have ended his participation as a player in the
tournament but Iran defender Mohammad Nosrati still considers himself very
much part of the squad.
"I much prefer to stay in China than go back to Iran because my heart is
still with the team and would be even if I had to go back to Tehran," the
22-year-old told footballasia.com.
"And besides, I can still help out the other players in practice. I can
still be considered a 'reserve player' and do all the duties of the reserves
in training."
Nosrati's gentle and engaging personality off the pitch suggests that the
62nd minute incident that led to the suspension and a hefty US$7000 fine was
starkly out of character, but the player is adamant that it was
unintentional.
"I am a footballer and I wouldn't do anything deliberately to hurt another
footballer," Nosrati stressed, before recounting the situation from his
perspective, a perspective that he feels has not been adequately voiced.
"When the number 20 (Imad Ali) fell down, I was watching Ali Karimi get the
ball and trying to keep my balance as much as I could. While he was on the
ground, the Oman player grabbed my ankle with his left hand so it was
difficult for me to get my footing at the last moment. I didn't intend to
stamp on him and I did try very hard to avoid the situation."
Nosrati went on to the score the equalizer in injury time as Iran heroically
fought back from two goals down but he knew there would be fall out from the
stamping incident, which occurred just over half-an-hour earlier.
"I knew that when they showed the incident on the big screen I would get a
suspension but I never expected it would be so severe. I have lost a lot of
motivation," said Nosrati, who revealed he found out about his punishment at
around noon the following day via the AFC's website.
"Maybe the punishment was so severe was because the officials and the match
commissioner missed it. If they hadn't, they would have given me the red
card, it would have been ten men against 11, and more importantly I wouldn't
have scored the goal."
The high-pressure match also featured a bizarre bust up between Rahman
Rezaei and Ali Badavi, with the two players trading slaps and ultimately
landing a two-match ban each. This, and Nosrati's flashpoint with the scorer
of both of Oman's goals, not surprisingly, have been dominating the back
pages.
"What is disappointing is that the incidents involving myself and Razaei and
Badavi are all that the press has been focussing on and not the fact that
Oman showed that they are one of the best teams in the tournament.
"I think our three suspensions will galvanise the side. We are all friends
but this will strengthen the unity. It is also a wake up call to all of us
that we cannot have a repeat of such incidents. It will be difficult but I
still believe we can make it to the final."
While many have praised the AFC for taking swift action against the players,
using video evidence to punish players for incidents not noted by the match
officials, Nosrati feels that there should be caution when instigating
'trial by television'.
"Using video evidence is one thing but sometimes there are many factors that
stay hidden, the Oman player grabbing my ankle, for example. It's fine if
every angle is covered and there is an awareness of everything that has
happened on the field...I am sure that video will show that the first Oman
goal was clearly offside.
"Video evidence can be a good thing, but then again it doesn't always make
things 100% positive." |
