Iranian football club Steel Azin Tehran on Tuesday reversed its initial decision to dismiss its star player Ali Karimi following widespread protests about the move, dpa reported.
Karimi drank water during a training session earlier this month and the club then dismissed him for having broken Islamic rules on fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.
After reversing the suspension, the club instead suspended Karimi from two league games and ordered a cash fine of 40,000 dollars. It asked the player to return to training as of Wednesday, ISNA news agency reported.
Football observers in Tehran believe that the highly exaggerated cash fine would just remain on paper and Karimi would not actually be obliged to pay the amount.
During the fasting month of Ramadan, Iranian Muslims are not allowed to eat and drink during daytime, including football players who have to train during the day at temperatures reaching 35 degrees without drinking any water.
The dismissal led to widespread protests as the club's fans not only openly backed the dismissed player but also threatened to turn their back on Steel Azin.
Karimi also received backing from several former top footballers, including former national team skippers and Bundesliga players Ali Daei and Mehdi Mahdavikia.
His supporters said that fasting was an individual decision by each Muslim and should not be used as a reason for punishment, especially not in the case of a internationally acknowledged player and skipper of the national team.
The dismissal of Karimi, who spent two seasons (2005-2007) in the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich and was once described as Asia's Maradona, has been one of the top news stories in the Iranian media.
The protests forced the Steel Azin management to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the issue again and eventually prompted them to vote against the initial dismissal.
The 31-year-old Karimi is one of the most controversial players in Iran.
Last year he wore a green armband in a crucial World Cup qualifier in June in Seoul to show symbolic support for Iran's opposition.
In 2008, he was dismissed from the national team after harshly criticizing the Iranian football federation and describing its current formation as the weakest in his 10-year spell in the national team.
Karimi also voiced criticism against the management of football clubs, saying they were in the hands of officials who knew nothing about football.