Iran’s workforce sang the nationwide anthem earlier than Friday’s World Cup match in opposition to Wales, having opted not to take action of their match opener in Qatar.
But followers booed and whistled all through the anthem, with some in tears. Earlier, followers protesting in opposition to the Iranian authorities clashed with pro-government supporters exterior the stadium.
The Iranian gamers had stood impassively throughout their anthem earlier than their 6-2 defeat to England on Monday in an obvious gesture of solidarity with anti-government protesters within the Islamic republic, one thing which drew a fierce response from authorities officers in Iran.
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Mehdi Chamran, chairman of Tehran metropolis council, stated: “We won’t ever permit anybody to insult our anthem and flag. Iranian civilisation has a historical past of a number of thousand years, this civilisation is as outdated as the full of European and American civilisations.”
And on Thursday, well-known former footballer Voria Ghafouri was arrested in Iran after making social media posts calling on the federal government to cease killing Kurdish folks, together with his arrest extensively seen as a warning to the worldwide workforce to not protest once more.
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An Iran’s supporter with blood tears make up on her face holds a soccer jersey studying the identify of Mahsa Amini.Source: AFP
But Iran ahead Mehdi Taremi denied on Thursday that his workforce had come “beneath strain” from their authorities to sing the anthem on the World Cup.
“I don’t like to speak about political points, however we’re not beneath any strain,” Taremi stated on the eve of the Wales recreation.
Supporters of Iran react to their nationwide anthem in the course of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group B soccer match between Wales and Iran on the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan, west of Doha on November 25, 2022. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP)Source: AFP
UGLY FAN CLASHES BEFORE MATCH
An AFP photographer on the stadium on Friday witnessed safety employees confiscating a flag from a fan with the protest slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom”.
According to AP, rival teams exterior the stadium shouted opposing chants at one another: “Women, Life, Freedom” and “The Islamic Republic.”
AP experiences that some Iran followers confiscated Persian pre-revolutionary Iranian flags from supporters, whereas others filmed and harassed ladies who had been being interviewed in regards to the protests.
Inside the stadium, some Iranian followers had been in tears in the course of the singing of the anthem. There had been additionally widespread boos and jeers.
An Iran supporter poses with a T-shirt studying “Woman life freedom” previous to the match.Source: AFP
THE CONTEXT
Iran has been shaken by two months of nationwide protests for the reason that dying of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in morality police custody on September 16.
Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, died three days after her arrest in Tehran over an alleged breach of the costume code for girls, which incorporates the necessary hijab headband.
The crackdown since Amini’s dying has left a minimum of 400 folks lifeless, in accordance with Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights.
The state’s response has led to questions over whether or not the workforce represents Iran or the regime that has dominated with an iron fist for the reason that Islamic Revolution of 1979.
