The match between Gilan’s Malavan and Tabriz’s Tractor, scheduled for Sunday, October 18, as part of the ninth round of the Iranian football league, was not played and was subsequently cancelled after some Malavan supporters directed insulting, racist, and ethnically motivated chants at Tractor players and the identity of Azerbaijani Turks.

The match was scheduled to kick off at 5:00 p.m. at the Sirus Ghayeghran (Takhti) Stadium in Bandar Anzali. However, tensions and incidents before the match prevented the game from taking place.

Insults Targeting Tractor Players and Azerbaijani Turkish Identity

According to reports, when players from both teams came onto the pitch for their warm-up, some Malavan supporters directed severe insults, obscene language, and ethnically discriminatory and racist chants at Tractor and its players. The chants also targeted Shoja Khalilzadeh and Alireza Beiranvand and included insults directed at the national identity of Azerbaijani Turks.

Malavan head coach Maziar Zare repeatedly approached the touchline and urged his own team’s supporters to stop the offensive chants. However, his efforts were unsuccessful.

Tractor head coach Javad Nekounam, match referee Bijan Heydari, and the organizers subsequently held lengthy discussions in an attempt to resolve the situation. Nevertheless, even after a delay of approximately 30 minutes, the match could not begin because the offensive chants continued.

As a result, Tractor’s players left the pitch and headed to the dressing room on the instructions of the club’s chief executive, Hojjat Karimi, and with the approval of the club’s owner, Mohammadreza Zonouzi. Malavan’s players subsequently left the pitch as well, and the cancellation of the match was announced.

Supporters were escorted out of the stadium, while the Tractor team left Bandar Anzali under police escort.