Controversial Taremi Decides to Quit Persepolis

Persepolis striker Mehdi Taremi says he is not going to renew his contract with the club after causing the club much trouble in the past four months.

The Tehran team was banned for hiring Taremi in July 2016 when the striker was already in a contract with the Turkish club Çaykur Rizespor.

His contract with the Turks was finalized, but the unrest that followed the failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016, caused him to leave the team and sign a contract with Persepolis.

Taremi’s sudden departure from Rizespor without informing the team managers in advance gave enough reasons to the Turkish side to press charges against the Iranian club and take its complaint to FIFA.

FIFA reportedly slapped a $960,000 fine on Persepolis and banned the club for two transfer windows now (in January) and also in June. The transfer window is the period during a year in which a football club can buy players from other countries. Such a transfer is completed after registering the player into the new club through FIFA.

Taremi was also banned from playing by FIFA for four months ending on January 21.

Diplomats and the Tehran club’s officials interceded with Ankara and Rizespor and requested it to rethink the decision over pressing charges against Persepolis.

After the negotiations, Rizespor club agreed to withdraw its complaint to FIFA which in turn dropped the $960,000 fine but not the transfer ban and four-month banishment for Taremi.

Although Taremi was the team’s top scorer up until then, his banishment did not have a negative influence on Persepolis as coach Branko Ivankovic solved the problem by bringing in just right substitutes to replace Taremi in the field.

Ali Alipour and Nigerian striker Godwin Mensha continued to score goals galore and the team was crowned champion of the Persian Gulf Pro League in the mid-season far ahead of the second team.

With his ban coming to an end in 18 days, Taremi has said that he is not going to renew his contract with Persepolis and is interested in playing for European clubs.

Taremi became the top-scorer of the pro league in 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons with Persepolis and owes his reputation to the club.

Although he caused unwanted problems, but never asked for an apology. He also has not shown any gratitude for officials and political figures who helped in lifting the cash fine for which he was responsible.

Currently he is on a two-year contract with the club that ends in June.