Alireza Jahanbakhsh has vowed to unify their nation as he failed to be drawn on the national anthem boos during at the World Cup.
“We take both. I think there are good days, bad days for every team, and also, like I said, we play for all the Iranians in Iran, outside Iran, with whatever ideology, whatever preferences they have, and we make sure to make them happy, because I’m sure at the end of the day, they love Team Mali from the heart, and we respect them all,” Jahanbakhsh told reporters after the match.
“And I think the most important thing we can do as a team is to perform well, to make sure we put our heart on the pitch, and to do everything to make them happy.
“And for the rest, I think that’s something we have to respect people, whatever idea they have, and like I said, the best thing we can do is to play football, and hopefully we can do it in the best way possible.”