Ali Kafashian (photo), president of the Iranian Football Federation, was quoted by the Fars news agency as saying the budget for the World Cup was very tight and he had instructed the players to keep their shirts rather than follow the soccer tradition of exchanging them with the opposition at the end of each game. Well, you can guess what a stink (no pun intended) that caused. The very next day, Kafashian backtracked, saying it is FIFA that pays all the World Cup expenditures and the players can do whatever they want with their shirts at the end of each game.
