Iran's soccer federation head sacked

Tehran :

Sports officials have dismissed the head of Iran's soccer federation over the country's poor showing at the World Cup, state-run television reported. The Physical Education Organization dismissed Mohammed Dadkan at a meeting on Wednesday. "Reviewing the poor performance, the head of the football federation was dismissed with an overwhelming majority of the votes,'' state television reported. Iran's head coach, Croatia's Branko Ivankovic, announced before the tournament that he would step down when his contract expires in July. State TV did not mention Ivankovic on Wednesday but he has been sharply criticized by the Iranian media for allegedly playing too defensively. The report said Dadkan's successor will be named on Saturday. Dadkan had been in charge for the past four yours. Iranians, including hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had hoped their team would make it to the knockout rounds. Iran finished the 2006 World Cup on Wednesday with a 1-1 draw against Angola. It lost its two earlier games 3-1 to Mexico and 2-0 to Portugal, eliminating hopes of an advance. Iran has played eight matches at the World Cup and won only one - a politically charged 2-1 win against the United States in 1998. Iran's elimination from the tournament also rules out a potential problem for FIFA and World Cup organizers. President Ahmadinejad has questioned the Holocaust - a criminal offense in Germany-and had hinted that he might attend the event if Iran reached the second round. (AP)