Why did Alireza Nikbakht-Vahedi miss the flight to Doha?!

Perspolis forward Alireza Nikbakht-Vahedi was invited to Team Melli camp and was supposed to accompany the team to Doha for the friendly against Qatar over the weekend. However, Nikbakht never made the trip!

Apparently the forward made it to the airport, but left for home after he realized that he had left his passport at home! Team Melli officials tried to contact him on his mobile for a couple of hours, but their calls were diverted to his voice box.

Mojtaba Sharifi, the chair of the IFF Disciplinary Committee told reporters that the forward might face disciplinary action.

Those fans who are familiar with Nikbakht might recall that he has had a history of cancelling on Team Melli in the last minute. Although a couple of times injuries were offered as the reason, one can not help but wonder what may be the real reason.

Mr. Sharifi hinted at the possibility of another reason but a forgotten passport when he told reporters, “Some other issues were also reported to us, but we decided to withhold any comments until we meet with Nikbakht”.