News / Sports / Editor's Choice

Iranian head coach of Myanmar futsal team resigns over Rohingya mass killing

Friday, 08 September 2017 7:08 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 09 September 2017 10:01 AM ]

Iranian head coach of the Myanmar men’s national football team, Reza Kordi (L)

The Iranian head coach of the Myanmar men’s national football team has resigned from his post in a show of solidarity with Rohingya minority Muslims, whom are being subject to various forms of violence by extremist Buddhists and military forces in the Southeast Asian country.

Reza Kordi, who took charge of the Burmese side in late April, made the decision on Thursday evening.

President of the National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kioumars Hashemi, later praised Kordi’s “humane act” to part company with the Myanmar Football Federation, which is the governing body for futsal in the Southeast Asian country and represents it in international futsal competitions.

Myanmar's security forces have been attacking the Rohingya Muslims and torching their villages since October 2016 in a bid to push them out of the western state of Rakhine.

The attacks have intensified since August 25, following alleged armed attacks on police and military posts in Rakhine.

The Rohingya have been subject to communal violence by extremist Buddhists for years, forcing large groups of Muslims to take perilous journeys and seek refuge in Bangladesh and other neighboring countries.

Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has come under fire for failing to protect the country’s Muslim minority from persecution.

She claimed on Wednesday that “a huge iceberg of misinformation” was spreading about violence in western Myanmar.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk