Status: 12/27/2022 6:12 p.m
A plane is diverted to an Iranian island en route from Tehran to Dubai. Two passengers have to get off there: they are the wife and daughter of Iranian ex-soccer professional Ali Daei. He’s stunned.
Ali Daei is angry. And he makes no secret of that. In a written interview with the Iranian news site Tabnak, the 53-year-old accused the authorities of lying. “It is a lie that my wife was banned from leaving the country and should inform the authorities beforehand when traveling abroad,” the news portal quoted him as saying.
Karen Senz
ARD Studio Istanbul
He also contradicts the claim in the regime-affiliated media that his wife and 13-year-old daughter wanted to travel further to the United States. As proof, the news page shows the flight tickets of the two: outward flight to Dubai on December 26th, return flight to Tehran on January 2nd.
Diverted and forced to exit
The 53-year-old asks why his family wasn’t stopped at passport control in Tehran. The plane with her on board landed yesterday shortly before its destination in Dubai on the Iranian island of Kish in the Persian Gulf. Daei’s daughter and his wife had to get out.
The girl, it is said, should have been allowed to travel on alone, but refused. Both returned to Daei in Tehran, as he says in an interview: “I thank God that your plane was not hit by enemy missiles and that you are sitting next to me in good health as I speak to you.” Observers suspect that he is alluding to the shooting down of the Ukrainian passenger plane over Tehran three years ago, which will mark the end of next week.
Sportsman in Iran folk hero
Ali Daei used to play in the Iranian national soccer team and in the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich, among others. He lives in Iran and is considered a folk hero there. Most recently, he had shown his solidarity with the protests against the regime. He had also declined to travel to Qatar for the World Cup. He said he wanted to stay with his countrymen and express his condolences to those who lost loved ones in the protests.
Iranian authorities withheld his passport for a few days in October. He and his wife also reportedly took part in the strikes as a sign of protest, while a family jewelry store and restaurant remained closed. Authorities then sealed the business, according to media reports.
Daei and other critical footballers threatened
Daei recently reported that authorities and strangers had threatened him and his family. Other well-known Iranian footballers are also supporting the protests that began in mid-September. Former professional Amir Nasr-Azadani is currently facing execution. According to reports on Twitter, the international football association FIFA should now also support him in his case. Former Bundesliga professional Ali Karimi had previously called for the death sentence to be lifted.