Iran has threatened to confiscate the property of former Zenit player Sardar Azmoun over posts with the UAE leader.
Former Zenit player Sardar Azmoun was expelled from the Iranian national team for social media posts about UAE leadership.
He is threatened with confiscation of property in Iran.
This was reported by the Iranian news agency Fars. The footballer's posts were seen as support for UAE leader Mohammed bin Zayed—Azmoun, who plays for the Emirati team Shabab Al-Ahli, posted photos with him. Meanwhile, the UAE hosts US military bases, which are involved in attacks on Iran, and in response, the Iranian military has been attacking the country since the beginning of the conflict. Iranian media have called Azmoun a “traitor” and threatened to confiscate his property. Meanwhile, in December 2025, Azmoun supported large-scale protests in Iran—he is not Persian, but an Iranian Turkmen.
Azmoun played for Russian football clubs for many years. He began his Russian career with Rubin Kazan, played in the Champions League for Rostov, and won several Russian championships with Zenit. He also played in Europe, for Bayer Leverkusen and Roma.
