The CEO of Esteghlal FC has accused the club's former coach, Pitso Mosimane, of planning his contract termination, insisting that the South African tactician did the same with Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia.
In January 2025, Mosimane terminated his contract with Esteghlal due to salary non-payments, among other issues.
The separation between the two parties has been controversial, to say the least, as some in Iran have been critical of Mosimane's decision to leave the club in an acrimonious fashion after just 14 games in charge.
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Notably, Mosimane's camp revealed that they had given Esteghlal a 15-day notice to pay what was due to him and his coaching staff, but that deadline was not met, resulting in the termination.
In response, the Tehran-based club explained that they had made attempts to deposit the owed amount into Mosimane's account but were unsuccessful due to banking-related issues.
Now, Esteghlal CEO Nazari Juybari has made strong allegations that Mosimane had orchestrated the entire situation.
According to Iranian news publication Footballi.Net, Juybari said: "The day I went to training, Mosimane thanked me for signing good players and strengthening the team's bench, but then he suddenly terminated his contract.
"We had even transferred his money into his account.
"Mosimane opened an account that did not allow us to transfer more than twenty thousand at a time.
"He had planned for this, and he did the same thing with Al Ahli."
Notably, in February 2024, FIFA ordered Al Ahli to pay Mosimane $1.15 million (R21.3 million) after the 60-year-old won his case against the Saudi club, which was also related to a breach of contract.
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By Lukhanyo Mtuta
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