Iran’s national soccer team refused to sing the country’s national anthem at the World Cup in Qatar on Monday, in an apparent act of defiance against their government, which has become the target of growing and incendiary protests. The team stood in a line with arms around one another’s shoulders, before their opening match against England, but instead of singing the words, as is traditional, the players looked stony-faced and stared straight ahead. The Associated Press has the story:
Iran Team silent at Nat. Anthem, lost 6-2 to England
Newslooks- DOHA, Qatar (AP)
Iran‘s soccer team chose not to sing the country’s national anthem before their opening World Cup match against England on Monday, in an apparent show of support for protesters back home. Widespread demonstrations have followed the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in the custody of Iran’s morality police in September after being detained for alleged violations of the country’s strict dress code. Iranian state television did not show footage of the players lined up for the start of the match.
The match has ended 6-2 to England as follows:
ENG — Jude Bellingham (Luke Shaw) — 35th minute.
ENG — Bukayo Saka (Harry Maguire) — 43th minute.
ENG — Raheem Sterling (Harry Kane) — 45th minute +1.
ENG — Bukayo Saka (Raheem Sterling) — 62nd minute.
IRN — Mehdi Taremi (Ali Gholizadeh) — 65th minute
ENG — Marcus Rashford (Harry Kane) — 71st minute.
ENG — Marcus Rashford (Harry Kane) — 71st minute.
ENG — Jack Grealish (Callum Wilson) — 89th minute.
IRN — Mehdi Taremi (penalty) — 90th minute+13.
Barred from stadiums at home, Iran women travel to World Cup
To 27-year-old Mariam, the World Cup match ticket was a precious gift. A sports fanatic, she traveled to the World Cup in Qatar from Tehran to catch Iran’s opening game Monday against England, her first live soccer match.
Women are banned from attending men’s matches in Iran.
“I’ve never attended a football match in my life so I had to take this chance,” said Mariam, a student of international relations who like other Iranian women at the match declined to give her last name for fear of government reprisals.
Iran is competing in the World Cup as a major women’s protest movement is roiling the country. Security forces have violently cracked down on demonstrations, killing at least 419 people, according Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been monitoring the protests.
The unrest was spurred by the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country’s morality police. It first focused on the state-mandated hijab, or headscarf, for women, but has since morphed into one of the most serious threats to the Islamic Republic since the chaotic years following its founding.
“A big achievement for protesters would be to have the choice to wear the hijab,” said Mariam. Her brown hair draped over her shoulders and ran long down her back. “But after that, women will go for their right to be in stadiums.”
In an effort to restrict large gatherings, Iran has closed all soccer matches to the public since the protests erupted. The reason for authorities’ fear became apparent as fans filtered into the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on Monday. Many Iran fans wore T-shirts or waving signs printed with the mantra of the uprising — “Woman, Life, Freedom.” Others wore T-shirts bearing the names of female protesters killed by Iranian security forces in recent weeks.
In the 22nd minute of the match – a reference to her age when she died – some fans chanted Mahsa Amni’s name, but the chant quickly faded out and was replaced by “Iran.”
The World Cup in Qatar, just a short flight across the Persian Gulf from Iran, has emerged as a rallying point for Iranian political mobilization. Protesters have even called on FIFA, soccer’s governing body, to prohibit Iran from competing in the tournament over restrictions on women in soccer stadiums and the government’s crackdown.
The question of whether to root for the national team has divided Iranians as the team becomes entangled in the country’s combustible politics. Many now view support for the Iranian team as a betrayal of the young women and men who have risked their lives in the streets.
“The protest movement has overshadowed the football,” said Kamran, a linguistics professor who lives in the verdant northern province of Mazandaran. “I want Iran to lose these three games.”
Anusha, a 17-year-old whose Tehran high school has been rocked by protests, said the past few weeks of unrest had changed everything for her.
“A few months ago I would have said of course I want Iran to win against England and America,” she said. “Now, it’s strange. I really don’t care.”
Others insist the national team, which includes players who have spoken out on social media in solidarity with the protests, is representative of the country’s people and not its ruling Shiite clerics. The team’s star forward, Sardar Azmoun, has been vocal about the protests online. Two former soccer stars have even been arrested for backing the movement. Iran’s players didn’t sing along to their national anthem before the match against England.
“At the end of the day, I want the players to achieve their dreams,” said Mariam. “It’s not their fault our society is so polarized.”
The Iranian government, for its part, has tried to encourage citizens to support their team against Iran’s traditional enemies. Iran plays the United States on Nov. 29 — a contentious showdown that last occurred at the 1998 World Cup in France.
Observers note that the players are likely facing government pressure not to side with the protests. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has urged his government to prepare for potential problems. Iran International, the Saudi-financed Farsi news channel that heavily covers the Iranian opposition, reported that Qatari authorities barred its reporters from attending the World Cup under Iranian pressure.
Already, Iranian athletes have drawn enormous scrutiny. When Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi competed in South Korea without wearing her country’s mandatory headscarf, she became a lighting rod of the protest movement.
“We’re waiting for them to show us they’re supporting the people in Iran,” Azi, a 30-year-old Iranian fan living in Ottawa, Canada, said of the national team. “Some kind of sign, by any way they can.”
Iran goalkeeper clashes heads with teammate at World Cup
Iran goalkeeper Ali Beiranvand was injured and carried off the field early in his team’s opening World Cup match against England on Monday after clashing heads with a teammate.
Beiranvand initially tried to continue playing despite the game being paused for several minutes as he received treatment following the collision with Majid Hosseini at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Iranian team medics and captain Ehsan Hajisafi tended to the keeper, who appeared to be in discomfort with a bloody nose. At one point, Hajisafi splashed water on Beiranvand’s face.
With substitute Hossein Hosseini standing by and ready to come on, Iran decided to leave Beiranvand on the field, a move which appeared to contravene FIFA concussion protocols.
“If there are signs or symptoms of damage to the brain, or a concussive injury is suspected despite the absence of signs or symptoms, the doctor/therapist should remove the player from the pitch for a more detailed examination (using a concussion substitute if available/required),” the governing body’s guidance states.
Beiranvand, however, briefly continued before asking to be substituted moments later, collapsing to the ground and eventually leaving the field on a stretcher.
