Inquiry into Wilmots salary dispute

The Belgian coach left the Iranian side after just six matches, due to “contractual violations”.

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Iran’s attorney general has opened an investigation into the dispute over millions of euros in salary paid to former national coach Marc Wilmots. According to the Isna news agency, the prosecutor summoned eight people on Saturday to be questioned about “irregularities” in the coach’s contract.

Wilmots, who was appointed in May 2019 for a three-year term, filed a lawsuit against the Iranian Federation (FFI) for non-payment of salary. He left his post after six matches because of what he called “serious breaches of contract”. The non-payment was linked to economic sanctions imposed on Iran because of its nuclear program. FIFA then ordered Iran to pay Wilmots 6 million euros ($ 7.1 million). This sparked outrage in Iran, as Wilmots would receive the sum for just five months of work and four competitive matches. Sports media have accused the FFI of poorly drafting the contract with Wilmots and are now calling for sanctions for those involved in the negotiations.

Under Wilmots, Iran lost two of their first four qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup, putting the team’s participation in the finals in Qatar at risk. Failure to reach the finals would be another blow for the cash-strapped FFI.

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