Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has stressed the importance of sports etiquette, particularly in soccer, calling on soccer's international governing body FIFA to introduce a set of ethical principles.
In a meeting with FIFA President Sepp Blatter in Tehran on Thursday, Larijani underlined Irans strong resolve to promote sports at different levels.
He added that Iranian lawmakers support the promotion of all sports, soccer in particular, within the framework of international rules and regulations.
The senior Iranian MP also touched upon various functions of soccer, noting that the sport can have an effective role in the social and cultural aspects of societies as well as in the fields of political ties and diplomatic exchanges among world countries.
Larijani also thanked Blatter for FIFAs recognition of athletic hijabs, saying the move paves the way for greater participation of female Muslim athletes in international sports events.
Blatter, for his part, stated that the presence of Irans national soccer team at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is a golden opportunity for Iranian soccer players to demonstrate their skills.
He stated that the acceptance of sports-hijab has been in line with FIFAs respect for religions and cultures, hoping that Muslim sportswomen would seize the chance and participate in more international sports tournaments.
Blatter, who is in Iran for a two-day visit, was greeted by a number of senior Iranian sports officials upon arrival at Tehrans Mehrabad Airport early on Wednesday.
He is accompanied by President of the Asian Football Federation (AFC) Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and several senior FIFA figures.
On Wednesday, he met and held talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.