In an utmost brazen act, Iraq used the fake name “Arabian Gulf” in the 25th edition of the Persian Gulf Cup.
The 25th football competition of the Adina Cup of Persian Gulf countries was opened on Dey 16, 1401, in Basra in southern Iraq. At the same time, the Iraqi postal department also printed and published stamps and postcards of this cup on the order of Iraq’s Minister of Communications, Hayam Eliasri, under the fake name of the Arabian Gulf.
Surprisingly, the website of the International Football Federation, FIFA, has used this fake name in the news about the presence of FIFA president Johnny Infantino at the opening ceremony of this cup.
The story of Iraq’s use of the rootless and fictitious name “Arabian Gulf” instead of the Persian Gulf did not end here. In a twitter message Moqtada al-Sadr, the leader of Iraq’s Sadr movement, who had previously retired from politics, used the name “Arabian Gulf” which was met with reactions in the virtual space and media of this country.
According to Hamshahri Online, Seyyed Moqtada Sadr wrote in his tweet: “Our honorable Arab guests from the (Arabian Gulf) countries, I welcome you…” And then he used the hashtag “#اهلاه_وسهلاه_بالعرب/Welcome to the Arabs.” The publication of this tweet and Moqtada al-Sadr’s use of this fake phrase for the Persian Gulf have even led to the reaction of Arabic-speaking users of cyberspace and Iraqi media to this issue. Some of these users consider this to be against Iran’s positions.
In the latest news and according to the official statement, the prime minister of Iraq, Al Sudani, announced the commencement of the (Arabian Gulf) championship cup games in Basra International Stadium.
With view to the spreading of this news by the Iraqi officials and the FIFA representative, it is definitely a deliberate plan. Because these games are covered widely by the region’s media, the organizers decided to spread this fictitious name. Here, it is most imperative and necessary for our political and sports authorities to seriously protest this ill-intentioned and riotous action of the tournament organizers, and insist on demanding an official apology from FIFA.
