Koudaei, the Iran shot-stopper, saved two penalties as the win ensured Iran's qualification for the Asia Cup. (Twitter) Jordan has called on the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to launch an investigation to determine the sex of a goalkeeper on the Iranian womenโs football team, identified as Zohreh Koudaei, reports Marca.
On Thursday, Koudaei hit back and has vowed to sue the ‘bullying’ Jordanian FA, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Koudaei said emphatically, ‘I am a woman. This is bullying from Jordan.’ ‘I will sue the Jordan FA,’ she added, according to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.
The incident transpired after a qualifying game for the 2022 Women’s Asia Cup between Jordan and Iran in which Iran won 4-2. Koudaei, the Iran shot-stopper, saved two penalties as the win ensured Iran’s qualification for the Asia Cup.
Iranian women’s football team won against its Jordan opponent and reached the final of the Asian Cup qualifiers. Iranian goalkeeper, Ms. Zohreh khodaei, really shined in this game.๐ธ๐ต๏ธ๐๐๐๐๐โค๏ธ#Iran pic.twitter.com/Bf9xcbn8Gm
โ ๐ฎ๐ทMahdi12m313 (@mahdi12m313) November 17, 2021
This led the Jordanian Football Association president Prince Ali bin Hussein to claim that Koudaei is a male posing as a female. He also followed up the claim with a tweet that he sent to the Asian Football Confederation, calling the situation “very serious if true,” whilst demanding the association to “wake up.”
No relevance to previous tweets but itโs a very serious issue if true. Please wake up @theafcdotcom pic.twitter.com/egk678CXCX
โ Ali Al Hussein (@AliBinAlHussein) November 13, 2021
According to a report by the Times of Israel, Iran teamโs selector, Maryam Irandoost, dismissed the allegation.
โThe 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,โ Irandoost told sports news site Varzesh3 on Sunday.
โWe will provide any documentation that the Asian Confederation of Football wishes without wasting time.โ
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