The regime in Iran is cracking down on people fighting for women’s rights with great severity. At the World Cup in Qatar, the Iran team is also in the political spotlight – the captain made a first statement.
It was the sixth death sentence since the protests began in Iran: On Sunday (November 20, 2022) a defendant was sentenced to death in connection with the nationwide protests. The Revolutionary Court in Tehran found him guilty ‘pulled a knife during recent riots’ to have, “with the intention of killing, spreading terror and unsettling society”.
A few hours before the conviction became known, Iran’s national team captain Ehsan Hajisafi spoke at the press conference before the England game. “In the Name of the God of the Rainbow”Hajisafi began, addressing the grieving families in Iran.
“They should all know that we are with them and support them. We suffer with them.” The god of the rainbow has become a symbol in Iran for Kian Pirfalak, who was shot dead by regime forces.
Sport plays a big part in the protests
Ehsan Hajisafi and his team play England in their first group match at the World Cup on Monday. Sport plays a major role in the protests in Iran. Numerous athletes got rid of their hijabs, a headscarf that is mandatory in Iran – with sometimes drastic consequences, as with the climber Elnaz Rekabi. Many male athletes made gestures of solidarity with women fighting for more rights. The call of the protesters: “Zan zendegi azadi” (“Woman, life, freedom!”).
Since the Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini was arrested by the so-called vice police on September 16 for wearing a headscarf (“hijab”) incorrectly and later died in hospital, protests have erupted in many Iranian cities, and the regime’s forces are cracking down on her with great severity people before.
The non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights counted 379 dead as of November 19, including 47 children and 27 women, although the organization believes that the actual number is higher.
Numerous expressions of solidarity from sport
Numerous symbols and gestures have recently emanated from sport. A beach soccer player symbolized cutting off his hair after a goal – with which many women in Iran had protested. At the Iranian Supercup, the team from the Tehran club Esteghlal refused to celebrate and the television broadcast was cut off.
National team protest at Austria international match
And the men’s national team also protested: at a game in Austria they wore black jackets to cover national symbols. Ehsan Hajisafi was also there. Leverkusen’s Sardar Azmoun also showed solidarity on Instagram, later deleting his post.
Iran’s national soccer team in black training jackets before the game against Senegal in Vienna
Futsal player removed from national team
The WDR reported on Shiva Amini, who played in the national futsal team. “I received a message from the Iranian football federation that I am now suspended,” Shiva said.
“Then I called the association from Switzerland. They said to me: ‘You brought shame on the Islamic Republic. That’s why you can never do sport again.’ I still tried to talk to them, but they also put pressure on my family in Iran.”
Call for Iran to be excluded from the World Cup dies down
The organization “Open Stadiums”, which campaigns for free access for women to football games, wrote an open letter to FIFA in September. In it she called for Iran to be excluded from the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
The players of the Iranian national team with coach Carlos Queiroz during training in Qatar
“To date, our letter has not received an answer,” writes the organization in a guest article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The post concludes, “With the help of those who amplify our voices, it will be difficult for FIFA officials to pretend they knew nothing. You knew. But you refused to act.” FIFA has not yet responded to inquiries about Iran.