Iranian-born star Ashkan Dejagah

Bonn, October 9, 2007 – The German Football Association (DFB) on Monday controversially backed Iranian-born star Ashkan Dejagah's decision to opt out of playing in this weekend's Israel versus Germany Under-21 European Championship qualifying match in Tel Aviv due to "personal reasons."

In a DFB statement, the striker, who plays for Bundesliga side Vfb Wolfsburg, asked for "understanding" from the German Football Association that the "reasons are of a very personal nature and lie in my closest family."

However, the German daily Bild quoted Dejagah as saying his refusal "had political reasons."

"Everyone knows I am an Iranian-born German," he said.

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has not recognized Israel's right to exist, Iranians are not allowed to travel to Israel and the country's president has famously called for Israel to be wiped off the map.

Although Germany Under-21 coach Dieter Eilts has accepted Dejagah's choice to opt out of Friday's match, DFB president Theo Zwanziger initially criticized the 20-year-old, telling German media over the weekend, "If we start doing things for political reasons, it will be sport itself which loses."

But Zwanziger made a dramatic turnaround on Monday when the DFB released a statement saying the president had agreed that Dejagah did not have to play.

The statement said Zwanziger "respected the decision of the coach... that the player stated reasons which lie in the private sector."

Dejagah has considered playing for Iran rather than Germany at the international level.

The Iranian state news agency IRNA reported that Dejagah's father, Muhammad, said in a recent interview in Berlin that his son "has yet to decide if he wants to play for the national football team of his native country Iran or Germany."

Dejagah established himself early in his career, becoming the youngest player to be signed by Hertha Berlin in 2005.

Since moving to Wolfsburg over the summer, he has become a crucial member of the squad, scoring an 88th minute equalizer in a 2-2 draw with Hamburg on September 29. Wolfsburg is currently in 10th place in the Bundesliga.

On Monday, IRNA said Dejagah had already said, "It was well known beforehand that I won't fly [to Israel]. The coach understood my reasons."

The Israel Football Association was unavailable for comment on Monday, but Ze'ev Seltzer, youth coordinator of the IFA, told Bild he did not accept Dejagah's excuses.

"We can separate between sport and politics," Seltzer said.

German political leaders have also spoken out against Dejagah's decision.

Dr. Friedbert Pflueger, leader of the CDU Party, told Bild it was "completely unacceptable."

"I have already had inquiries from the Iranian Federation," he said. "If he has political reservations, he may not play for a German team."

Pflueger also dismissed any question of Dejagah refusing to play on the basis of security risks, saying, "He is a German citizen. Everything would be done for his security in Israel."

Zwanziger said the decision had not been political.

"We will not accept that a German national player refuses to play in an international match because of his world view," he said in the DFB statement, which referred to "outstanding German-Israeli relations."

Zwanziger said soccer has "always built bridges in the past," adding that it can "dissolve irreconcilably facing points of view."

He is due to arrive in Israel two days before the match to visit "important points in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem."

Zwanziger, Eilts and DFB sports director Matthias Sammer intend to "lay down a wreath to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust" on a hill west of Jerusalem after they visit Yad Vashem.

Zwanziger said he planned to arrange discussions with "top representatives of the Israeli soccer federation" in Tel Aviv on Thursday to "continue and deepen" the connections that German football has felt with Israel.

He said the German Football Association will "follow its social responsibility" by having the German national team play in Israel.

Source: jpost

Iran-born player get suspend this Wednesday, but Germany Jews want to suspend from all national team

Bonn, October 12, 2007 - The Iranian-born Ashkan Dejagah Wolfsburg midfielder pulled out of an Under 21 match in Tel Aviv last Friday due to "personal reasons," saying he feared for the safety of relatives in Iran if he played in Israel.

It is not yet known if Dejagah's suspension is permanent or whether he will be allowed to make a return to the German national team in the future. But The Central Council of Jews in Germany called on the ruling body DFB to kick him out of the team.

Ashkan Dejagah's future as a Germany international is likely over, after the German Football Federation (DFB) decided to suspend him from all national team activity. said The Central Council of Jews in Germany

Israel Football Association chairman Avi Luzon met with the DFB president Theo Zwanziger on Thursday morning and was told of the decision to suspend Dejagah. "I wasn't told exactly how long he will be suspended for, only that he is suspended indefinitely. I accept any decision made by the DFB," Luzon told The Jerusalem Post. "The Germans came to Israel with a large delegation because they wanted to show the importance of this visit. The DFB president invited me to Germany and we agreed to play a friendly match between the national teams."

Zwanziger refused to comment on the matter on Thursday, but had said earlier in the week: "Any form of discrimination or anti-Semitism has no place in German football. I will first get a picture of the player's reasoning. We have to give Dejagah a chance to consider his decision again. Does he really identify with what is happening in Iran? We know what we expect from German national players."

Zwanziger , Germany Under-21 coach Dieter Eilts and DFB sports director Matthias Sammer visited Yad Vashem on Wednesday and laid a wreath to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

Germany coach Joachim Low has also spoken of his disappointment with Dejagah's decision not to play in Israel. "I know the political problems. Basically I hoped and expected that for sporting reasons, a German Under-21 player would have made a different decision," Low said.

coach Felix Magath saying the player could not understand the controversy around him. "He doesn't understand the upheaval," said Magath, who spoke of "a normal training session."

Israel 's U21 coach Guy Levy was reluctant to answer any questions regarding Dejagah on Thursday. "I don't think I need to comment on such matters," he said.

Magath gave him the day off Wednesday but insisted this was no suspension.

The U21 team is desperate to claim a victory on Friday after suffering a shock 1-0 loss to Moldova in its last qualifier. Israel defeated Luxemburg 3-0 in its first match of the campaign in September and will complete the first round of matches on Wednesday when it faces Northern Ireland.

Only the top team in the group is guaranteed to advance to a qualification playoff, with the four best runners-up from the 10 qualifying groups also progressing to the next stage. The seven playoff winners will join Sweden, which qualify automatically as hosts, at the eight-team final tournament.

The German team, which is almost entirely made-up of Bundesliga players, defeated Northern Ireland 3-0 in its only qualifier to date.

"We must understand that we can defeat any team in the same way that we can lose to any team. We must believe we can win." Levy said. "We have gifted players and we need to help them display their ability on Friday."

One of the talented players Levy is talking about is Bnei Sakhnin midfielder Maor Buzaglo. "There's something special about this team and we're getting better all the time," the 19-year-old said. "This match is crucial and we can't afford to drop any more points."

Source: Jpost