Iranian national team players Masoud Shojaei and Ehsan Haji found themselves in a tricky situation.
By defending the colors of the Greek club "Panionios," they had no choice but to follow the coach's instructions and play in the Europa League qualifying match against the Tel Aviv "Maccabi" team.
However, this event did not go unnoticed by the Iranian Football Federation, and officials permanently removed both athletes from the national team.
Iran does not recognize the state of Israel and forbids its country's athletes from competing against teams from the nearby country.
"We are certain - Shojaei and Safi will never be called up to the national team, as they crossed a red line," said Iran's Minister of Sports, Mohammad Reza Davarzani.
The first of them had already faced trouble in June when they asked Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to allow women to watch the team's game at the stadium.
