Iranian Ads at Football Match Spark Complaints

The Syria News website has received dozens of complaints from readers after a football international was dominated by Iranian advertisements.



Iran beat Syria 2-0 in a World Cup Asian qualifier in Damascus on June 14. Viewers said the Al-Abbassiyin stadium was plastered with ads by Iranian firms, and none from their own country.



“I had to convince my wife that the game took place in Syria," wrote one a reader.



The letters asked whether Syrian companies had chosen not to advertise or had been prevented from doing so.



The official sponsor of the match was Smart Sport, whose director Mazen Khalil told the website that ad space had been offered to many companies, but Syrian firms had shown little interest so the rights were sold to an Iranian contractor through Al-Jazeera Sports television.