Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun, 23, retires from international football after insults hurled by fans

In an unfortunate incident, Sardar Azmoun, a 23-year-old Iranian striker, announced his retirement from international football on Thursday, following insults hurled at him by fans that affected his mother’s health badly.

“Playing in my national team has been a great honour for me and I will be proud of myself to the end of my days,” Azmoun said in a post on social media. “Unfortunately... I have come to the decision to say goodbye to my national team.”

Azmoun is considered to be one of the most promising young talents to be represented from Iran. He represented Iran at youth level after which he moved to Russian Premier League side Rubin Kazan at 18. Iran won their first match with Morocco, lost against Spain and tied with Portugal in their group B matches. To top it off, Azmoun did not manage to score a single goal in Russia.

“My mother had overcome a serious illness and I was happy, but unfortunately because of the unkindness of some people, and the insults that me and my team mates in no way deserved, her illness has become severe. This has put me in a difficult position where I must pick one or the other - and as a result I pick my mother.”

This was the statement given by Azmoun explaining the reason for his early retirement. Azmoun is seen by many as the long term successor to Ali Daei. His retirement will be a big blow to the country’s rising progress in international football.

He did acknowledge that this was not an easy decision on his part by adding, “This is one of the most painful and significant life decisions for a youth of 23, who faced great hardships to get here.”