Iran's national football team, with their last result a 1-1 draw against Egypt (2026-06-27) and a record of 2 wins and 3 draws in their last 5 matches, is embroiled in political debates surrounding sports criticism. This article examines how football criticism is turning into political accusations. ## What happened? After Ali Reza Beiranvand praised the national team's performance and suggested building a statue of Amir Ghalenoei, Ali Daei and Karim Bagheri criticized the team's lineup and results with a sarcastic tone. In response, Beiranvand accused Daei of political affiliations, saying, 'Daei has joined those who wished for Iran to be bombed.' ## Why does it matter? These reactions show that sports criticism is turning into political debates instead of football analysis. Amir Ghalenoei also called critics 'unpatriotic' and 'Iran-sellers' on the 'Football Elite' program. ## What's next? This trend encourages self-censorship among sports journalists. The national team should respond to criticism with statistics and arguments, not political accusations.