He was arrested alongside several other sports journalists. In a letter, first published in October 2008, general sports managers asked the Iranian judicial system to pursue and prosecute journalists who disturb athletes’ and coaches’ peace. Iranian officials never shared any information about these arrests. The journalists were released after a few months but the charges and the reason behind their arrests were never disclosed.

Raja News, a news outlet close to former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, published a report on the arrest entitled ‘The Detainment of Three Suspects of Corruption in Sports Journalism.’ According to the report, the concerned individuals had been under surveillance for the last few months.

Etemad Melli newspaper also reported on the incident: ‘Some of the sports journalists were arrested at their offices.’ The newspaper explained that the reason behind the arrest was based on ‘rumours about the involvement of those journalists in the trade of soccer players.’

A sports journalist, who asked to remain anonymous, told Radio Farda: “These people were arrested because of the lawsuit against them by the General Manager of Esteghlal Club, Vaez Ashtiani, and the Sepahan Club General Manager, Mohammadreza Saket.”

An unnamed Iranian sports veteran also commented:”These arrests are somehow linked with the letter that several Club GMs [general managers] wrote and signed [and sent] to the General Inspection Office.”

Iranian officials never shared any information about these arrests. The journalists were released after a few months but the charges and the reason behind their arrests were never disclosed.

Alavi was summoned to court once before this incident in 2007 as a result of a complaint from the Physical Education Organization.

“With the complaint of the Physical Education Organization, three of the paper’s journalists, plus the managing editor, were charged with ‘disturbing public peace’ and defamation in the court’”Alavi explained in an interview with the Iranian Students' News Agency. “[This] morning I appeared in court, along with the managing editor. The Physical Education Organization representative asked the court for a one-month extension for further investigation, but the judge agreed with only one week.”

Alavi added: “This compliment is because of an interview I did with Mohammad-Sadegh Doroodgar, and two other pieces by Shahin Tehrani and Mohammadreza Nasiri on [corruption in] the Physical Education Organization.