podcast
The fight for democracy and equality in Iran is also being waged in sport. In the COSMO video podcast “Iran in the Heart”, former top athletes Saeid Fazloula and Reyhane Amro, who live in Germany, talk about solidarity, protest actions and threats from the Iranian government.
When the Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi competes in an international competition in South Korea without a headscarf in October 2022, she draws global attention to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement – and thus takes on a pioneering role in the sports world. A number of athletes follow their example and draw attention to grievances in the country despite considerable personal disadvantages.
Arrested and interrogated for visiting Milan Cathedral
“Professional athletes can also be role models for everyone else, so they can continue the movement.”says former swimmer and canoeist Reyhaneh Amro, who has lived in Germany for eight years. She would like to see more solidarity actions like this, even though she knows from her own experience that the pressure on Iranian athletes is great.
Canoeist Saeid Fazloula also experienced this. He has long campaigned for fair pay for athletes in Iran. At the Canoe Racing World Championships in Milan in 2015, Fazloula’s tourist visit to the Milan Cathedral was interpreted by Iranian security personnel as a conversion to Christianity. Back in Iran he is arrested and interrogated.
“In Iran they definitely do psychological terror. You sit there, your eyes are closed, your hands are closed. They say you either play along or you’re dead“, says Saeid Fazloula in the video podcast. He then fled to Germany, but here too he is put under pressure with calls and via social media when he uploads videos critical of the regime on Instagram.
Amro and Fazloula – hope for solidarity in the sports world
Reyhaneh Amro feels the same way. Since the beginning of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, she has become more of an activist and organizes demonstrations. She continues, even though her family in Iran receives threatening calls and she herself has fallen victim to a cyber attack that, according to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, has affected several people in the Iranian community in Germany. Nevertheless, both Amro and Fazloula want to continue to work for the revolutionary movement in Iran.
Amro hopes for more solidarity from the international sports world. “Many footballers who said something were arrested. The regime doesn’t care who is in what position and says what, everyone is arrested“, says the former water sports athlete. “Sports are fueling the protests, but many people are afraid to speak out. If everyone were to position themselves together in the sport family, then a lot more would happen.“
The two also look back on their professional careers in Iran. Female athletes are very restricted by the regime’s clothing regulations alone. Amro herself faced increased harassment from authorities and disciplinary measures after she spoke in a television interview about how remarkable it was that Iranian female athletes were winning medals despite being less agile.
Sports under the control of the Iranian government
The sports scene is massively controlled by the government. For example, the two largest football clubs, Persepolis and Esteghlal Tehran, are owned by the Iranian Ministry of Sports. Accordingly, important positions in Iranian sports associations, not just in football, are often given to regime politicians. “You simply have to have connections, not just with the sports ministry, but everywhere“, explains canoeist Saeid Fazloula.
In “Iran in the Heart” Saeid Fazloula and Reyhaneh Amro give deep insights into Iranian professional sport and share their personal experiences.