The president of the Jordan Football Association has called on the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to begin an investigation so as to determine the sex of a goalkeeper on the Iranian women’s soccer team, with Tehran denying foul play.
Iran beat Jordan 4-2 on penalties in September, with Koudaei saving two spot-kicks to help her country to qualify for the 2022 Women’s Asia Cup for the first time in their history.
However JFA have declared suspicions over the ‘eligibility of a participating player,’ and are demanding a gender test on the Goalkeeper. They believe Koudaei was in fact a man impersonating a woman.
The President of the Jordan Football Association, Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, tweeted a letter calling for a gender test.
He has slammed the AFC over the ‘very serious issue,’ and fumed at the confederation to ‘wake up
In response, Iran’s team selector Maryam Irandoost strongly denied the allegations.
Irandoost told sports news site Varzesh3: “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.”
The JFA have demanded an ‘independent panel of medical experts’ take a look at the issue.
Part of the letter reads that the JFA: “Understand that gender verification is not mandatory for participating players, however, the article reserves the right for AFC to investigate and take appropriate measures if there is a doubt on the eligibility of a participating player.
Considering the evidence submitted by JFA and given the importance of the competition,
“We request the AFC to initiate a transparent and clear investigation by a panel of independent medical experts to investigate the eligibility of the player in question and others on the team,
“Particularly that the Iranian Women Football team has a history with gender and doping issues.”
