Iran’s record national player Ali Daei has supported the nationwide protests for more women’s rights. His passport was then confiscated. He has it back now.
Iran’s authorities have returned the passport to ex-Hertha star and country’s all-time record international, Ali Daei. The 53-year-old confirmed this on Monday. The decision to withdraw the papers was seen as a reaction by those in power to Daei’s support for women’s rights. He had called on social networks to “solve the problems of the Iranian people instead of resorting to repression, violence and arrests”.
Ali Daei in 1999 in the Hertha jersey
Banner in the Olympic Stadium
After the passport was withdrawn, Hertha BSC and its fans also clearly expressed their solidarity with their ex-player Daei. In the home game against Freiburg on Sunday, the east curve showed a banner with the inscription: “Freedom for Ali Daei & all protesters in Iran”. Hertha BSC also officially showed solidarity with the former striker via Twitter.
“We are also looking at Iran with dismay these days. Our former player Ali Daei is no longer allowed to leave the country because he campaigned for women’s rights. We show solidarity with the Herthaner all women in Iran who are so brave for their rights to fight,” said a statement from the Berliners. It was also read out in the stadium before the game kicked off.
Ali Daei scored 109 international goals for Iran in his career. Until Portugal’s superstar Cristiano Ronaldo overtook him in September 2021, Daei was the world’s top international goalscorer. Around the turn of the millennium, the top scorer, then with a distinctive black mustache, played for Hertha BSC for three years.
Taheri: “They are role models for society”
The current political leadership in Iran has little interest in his past successes and his status as a folk hero. On the contrary. The regime is also increasing the pressure on the most prominent Iranians, says Manutscher Taheri, head of the Iranian community in Germany rbb|24: “They are role models for society, they can mobilize many people, which is why the regime is cracking down so harshly.”
Football has an enormous influence on Iranian society. “The regime is very afraid of that. That’s why the soccer games in Iran are currently taking place without spectators,” says Taheri. There were many songs critical of the regime in the stadiums. “If the people from the stadiums would take to the streets, then there would be no stopping it.”
Niroomand: “Moral support is balm”
Kaweh Niroomand – well known and well connected in the sports world of Berlin as the manager of BR Volleys – is not surprised by the reactions of the Iranian regime. “It doesn’t feel responsible to anyone except the interests of the ruling mullahs,” says the 69-year-old, who was born in Tehran, in an rbb|24 interview. “That’s why they won’t consider anything. If things get too tricky for them, they won’t shy away from arresting well-known people, national heroes, and maybe even shooting them.”
Hertha BSC gave up their first home win of the season against Freiburg
Hertha BSC missed the first home win of the season. The Berliners again showed a good performance against SC Freiburg, were in the lead and gave up the victory late after a serious goalkeeper error.more
Actions – like those of Hertha BSC and its fans in the Daei case – he therefore finds immensely important. “This moral support, also here from Berlin, is very valuable to the people of Iran,” says Niroomand. “It’s balm on the souls of these people when they realize that others around the world are also showing solidarity with them.”
Sports World: Demands to exclude Iran from the World Cup
Iran has been the scene of protests since 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini died in police custody on September 16. The woman had been arrested by the so-called vice squad for allegedly violating the country’s dress code.
Ten days ago, Hossein Maahini, another ex-national player, was arrested for criticizing the country’s authorities in the same way as the Daeis. Bundesliga professional Sardar Azmoun (Bayer Leverkusen) had also joined the protests in his home country. “Ashamed of you all, how carelessly people are murdered. Iranian women live long,” Azmoun wrote in a post that has since been deleted.
There are now calls from the sports world to exclude the Iranian national team from the World Cup finals in Qatar in November and December. So far, the world governing body FIFA has not reacted to this initiative. Iran were drawn into Preliminary Group B along with USA, England and Wales.
Broadcast: rbb24, October 10, 2022, 6 p.m
