The World Cup's chief organiser has described Jurgen Klinsmann's description of Iran's performance against Wales as "racist" before accusing Gary Lineker and the BBC of having "agendas" against the tournament hosts.
Hassan Al Thawadi, secretary general of the Supreme Committee, made the comments in an interview with talkSPORT on Monday morning as the furious response to Klinsmann’s comments continue.
The former Germany forward and United States boss, speaking as a pundit for BBC, took aim at what he perceived Iran’s “culture” of physical and aggressive play.
That led to Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz hitting back in a remarkable thread on social media in which he invited Klinsmann to spend time with his squad at the World Cup - after he resigned from his role with FIFA’s technical group.
There had been suggestions that Queiroz considered “culture” as a more general reference to Iran rather just their style of football.
Klinsmann was given right of reply on BBC before Sunday evening’s draw between Spain and Germany, which attempted to draw a line under the episode.
He has since posted on Twitter : "My comments on the Wales v Iran game were purely football related. Unfortunately, this was taken out of a footballing context. I have many Iranian friends and was always full of compliments for their people, culture, and history. I wish them only the best for the tournament."
Al Thawadi had escalated the situation by accusing Klinsmann of making “racist” comments while criticising presenter Lineker for refusing to engage with Qataris.
"I don’t like utilising the phrase... I don’t wish to give energy to the phrase [but] it was very elitist, orientalist and racist to a sure extent," he said of Klinsmann's comments. “I’ll say it in this fashion: you take a look at what is going on and also you say it’s a part of their tradition, what do you imply by that? Are you saying it was misunderstood? He was representing a tradition in a unfavourable means."
Lineker said before the tournament that he would attempt to shed a light on the Gulf state’s appalling human rights record and would not be muzzled by the BBC. But Al Thawadi said that he and ITV pundit Roy Keane, among others, undermine any points they make because they did not engage directly with Qataris before the tournament started.
“An important component about that is breaking down misconceptions and stereotypes that individuals have – which suggests they should have interaction," Al Thawadi added. “The reason being as a result of it’s a platform that provides you the chance to interact. Folks like Roy [Keane] and Gary [Lineker], or whoever else, there was no engagement.
“For me, Gary Lineker, I regarded him rising up. After I was in Sheffield, I watched ‘They Assume [Think] It’s All Over’. I used to like it, the banter, the sense of humour. So it was very disappointing that he by no means bothered to interact. We reached out many instances.
"The newest was in February, we reached out in three or four instances, requesting particularly to sit down down with Gary to say, ‘We respect your place, give us the chance to plead our case. At the least hear us out.'"
Iran face the United States tomorrow evening knowing that a win would send them into the round of 16 for the first time in their history. Their campaign to date has been clouded by politics amid huge protests at home that have led to the deaths of several hundred innocent people campaigning for more freedom for women.
Having refused to sing the national anthem before the 6-2 loss to England as a gesture of solidarity with the protestors, fears of reprisals led to the team mumbling the anthem before the late 2-0 victory against Wales on Friday.
