The country of Jordan has garnered serious backlash from the football community by accusing an international female player of being a man after it lost a match. Jordan called for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to launch an investigation into Iran’s goalkeeper, Zohreh Koudaei, to legally determine her sex, the India Times reports.
No relevance to previous tweets but it’s a very serious issue if true. Please wake up @theafcdotcom pic.twitter.com/egk678CXCX
— Ali Al Hussein (@AliBinAlHussein) November 13, 2021
- Talk about being sore losers! Jordan’s accusations are the direct result of losing the match against Iran. Iran beat Jordan in a penalty shootout at the 2022 Women’s Asian Cup qualifier in September 2021 and they were none too pleased about it. Instead of admitting defeat with honor, they’ve decided to contest the Koudaei’s sex to insult her skills.
- Koudaei was the hero of the match. While the entire team came together to win the match, it was Koudaei that ensured Iran came out ahead of Jordan at 4-2 by making two incredible saves. The win marked Iran’s first 2022 Women’s Asian Cup appearance ever.
- The president of the Jordan Football Association has lodged legal documents. Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein decided that since he couldn’t win the match, he would try to embarrass the Iranian team and Koudaei in particular by submitting the “request for gender verification” for her. He claimed that the allegations of Koudaei being a man were “very serious if true.”
- The Iranian national team has spoken out in support of Koudaei. Team selector Maryam Irandoost told Varesh3: “The medical staff have carefully examined each player on the national team in terms of hormones to avoid any problems in this regard, and so I tell all fans not to worry. We will provide any documentation that the Asian Confederation of Football wishes without wasting time. These allegations are just an excuse not to accept the defeat against the Iranian women’s national team. The Jordanian team considered themselves the big favorite to qualify… and when they lost… it was natural to seek relief under false pretenses and to escape responsibility for this failure.”
Watch | Solidarity campaign in support of the Iranian goalkeeper Zohreh Koudaei. #Iran pic.twitter.com/pdYLlGsOWZ
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) November 16, 2021
