CBC has added correction notes to several of its reports about the friendly soccer match between Canada and Iran which was initially scheduled for July 5th and later canceled under political pressure.
According to one of the executives of the Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC) who spoke to IC Journal, this correction was added after their objections and correspondence with CBC regarding a number of incorrect and misleading reports on this matter. The executive said that they are still following up with CBC to understand the reason behind the misleading reports.
The correction notes have been added to several reports published by CBC on their website, and the videos of their news programs on YouTube and other CBC platforms. In these reports, the Canadian public broadcaster claimed that there are strong connections between members of the Iranian soccer team, and the planned soccer match with Canada and the Islamic Republic’s intelligence organizations and the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). In their reports, CBC relied on the following as the only proofs of these connections:
- A photo of Hamid Estili and Mahmoud Khazein at a birthday party for an Iranian comedian.
- Comments from an expert which in some of the reports appears to be Masih Alinejad.
In one of the popular CBC News programs, reporter Ashley Burke says: “My colleague and I have been reporting about that connection and an expert say that the IRGC does have ties to this game and in one example, in particular, the head of Iran’s soccer team (Hamid Estili) just last month was photographed at a party standing one person next to someone who is wanted by the FBI in connection to allegedly trying to go on a plot to kidnap a number of international targets including three Canadian citizens…”
Now weeks after the cancelation of the game and public controversy around it that was built up by CBC reports, the editors say that the information they provided in several reports about the photo of Hamid Estili and Mahmoud Khazein were completely wrong.
The correction note says: “An earlier version of this story contained errors in reporting about a photo featuring Hamid Estili and Mahmoud Khazein. Our original reporting stated that the photo was taken on April 8, 2022. The photo actually appears to be from 2018. Our story reported that Mahmoud Khazein was wanted by the FBI at the time the photo was taken. In fact, he was indicted in New York in July, 2021 [three years after the photo]. CBC News does not know the extent of any relationship between the two men [Hamid Estili and Mahmoud Khazein].” In some of the reports published by CBC, the correction notes add that the photo and reference to Hamid Estili and Mahmoud Khazein have been removed from the text.
Original Source of Hamid Estili’s Photo
The photo of Hamid Estili, Mahmoud Khazein, and Mehran Modiri was first published by the Iranian news outlet “Entekhab” in 2018 under the heading “Mehran Modiri’s Birthday Party”. According to this report a number of Iranian cultural and sports celebrities including Hamid Estili were present in this party. Mehran Modiri is a popular Iranian comedian.
Three years after this photo, the U.S. Justice Department put Mahmoud Khazein in FBI’s wanted list for plotting for abduction of a US citizen (Masih Alinejad). The U.S. Justice Department believes that Mr. Khazein is an Iranian intelligence officer.
Hamid Estili was appointed as the head of the Iranian soccer team in 2021. This means that the reports published by CBC claimed the existence of a connection between the Iranian national soccer team and Mahmoud Khazein based on a photo taken 4 years ago at a party at a time when Estili was not even the head of the soccer team.
