– They should not sing the Iranian national anthem. We hope they don’t.
– It is not our national anthem. It is the Islamic State of Iran.
This is what an Iranian woman said, Azadehin Qatar outside the Khalifa Stadium before Iran and England met in the FIFA World Cup Group B opener.
The Iranian national team complied with the wish. When the TV cameras filmed the players of the starting line-up during the national anthem before the match, they stood stone-faced. From the stands, the camera filmed a woman who gave applause and a tear after the national anthem.
Azadeh told Urheilu that he is not in Qatar for football, but to show his support for the Iranian people.
– The people you see in the background with the flags of the Islamic State are not my group. The administration has paid them to come here and act like that.
– Right now, Iran is a prison. We are prisoners.
From Pätkän Azadeh’s interview, you can see the story’s main picture from the scene.
“The administration is brutal”
Arrested by the country’s chastity police Mahsa Aminin the protests that started after the death are still going on. Iran’s turmoil is also reflected in the Qatar Games.
According to Iranian authorities, 22-year-old Amini died on September 16 following an illness, and the beating by the chastity police was not related to the death. Amin’s death has sparked an extraordinary wave of protests for women’s rights in Iran. People have opposed the administration and the violence of the chastity police.
According to Amnesty, 134 people had already died in the protests at the beginning of October. For example, during a demonstration in Zahedan at the end of September, Iranian authorities killed at least 66 demonstrators or bystanders, Amnesty reported.
Azadeh said he understood that Iranian players could not stage highly visible protests at the World Cup because their families in Iran could be threatened. However, he hoped for some kind of show of support, such as silence during the national anthem.
According to Azadeh, there are no Iranians in Qatar who are interested in football. He is protesting and supporting the Iranians, while those waving state flags are, according to him, paid to be there.
Azadeh praised the courage of his country’s citizens. According to him, the first real revolution in terms of women’s rights is underway. In Azadeh’s hand were the words women, life, freedom.
– The Islamic regime is brutal, it kills people. They killed 52 children in the last two months. 14,000 people are in prisons right now, Azadeh said.
According to human rights organizations, around 400 people have died when Iranian security forces have intervened in the protests with forceful means. Almost 17,000 people have been arrested.
Well-known football players have dared to oppose the administration
Iran is playing in the World Cup for the sixth time. Now it arrived in Qatar with a special attention.
Urheilu interviewed someone who also appeared in the Iranian national team before the World Cup Milad Zanidpouria36, who currently represents Ilves-Kiss from Tampere.
– To be honest, I don’t know much about the Iranian national team, because I don’t think it represents the Iranian people. Iranians have been demonstrating for freedom for the past two months. I am by no means on the side of the national team.
For example, Iranian football legends Ali Daei and Ali Karimi have shown their support for the Iranian protests.
– They are legends whose equals are hardly seen. They have sacrificed themselves for the people. They have spoken for women and freedom. That’s the most they could do.
Zanidpour isn’t the only Iranian player who thinks the national team shouldn’t even be at the World Cup.
– It is the government’s team, not the people’s. In my opinion, the football country of the Islamic Republic does not deserve to participate in the World Cup, it can be replaced by Ukraine or Italy, former Iranian national team goalkeeper Sosha Makani said to NRK (you switch to another service).
“Messi of Iran” Sardar Azmoun plays in Bayer Leverkusen as Lukas Hradecky’s teammate. The attacker has suffered from calf problems, but there were other threats to Iran’s number one star’s trip to the tournament. He is one of the well-known Iranians who has taken a strong stand in favor of the protests.
“At worst, I will be kicked out of the national team, which is a small price to pay for even one strand of Iranian women’s hair,” Azmoun wrote in his since-deleted Instagram update According to Sky Sports (you will switch to another service).
Azmoun pointed out that as part of the protests, Iranian women have cut their long hair short.
Among other things According to CNN (you’ll go to another service) Portuguese head coach Carlos Queiroz would have received pressure from Iran’s sports minister to leave Azmou out of the team.
Queiroz said the players “are allowed to protest and express themselves as long as they don’t break Fifa rules or the spirit of the game”.
Iranian football journalist Sina Saemian told Sky Sports that football is usually extremely popular in the country.
– But when something like this happens, I believe that people’s focus is elsewhere. Now football has become a platform for people to voice their concerns and ensure that their voices are heard.
From the captain of Iran’s World Cup team From Ehsan Hajsaf was asked about the situation in his country at Sunday’s press conference. He said at the beginning of the event that he “would like to convey his condolences to all the grieving families in Iran”.
– We have to accept that the situation in our country is not good and people are not happy. They are unhappy. We are here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be their voice or that we can’t respect them, said Hajsafi, who represents Greek club AEK Athens.
Protests were also seen inside the stadium during the England match. Supporters have had signs and shirts defending women’s rights, among other things.
According to Detsche Welle, some supporters carrying Persian flags were not allowed to enter the stadium. Some supporters sought to show their support for the ongoing protests in Iran in other creative ways, such as ripping out the symbol in the center of Iran’s current flag.
The match between Iran and England ended with England winning 6–2.