Several members of Iran’s men’s national soccer team posted messages on social media in support of Hossein Mahini, a former teammate arrested on Thursday for expressing solidarity with the protests sweeping Iran.
Millions of Iranians have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was arrested for allegedly wearing her headscarf too loosely. The almost unprecedented wave of dissent against the Iranian regime and for women’s rights has prompted a swift and deadly crackdown by the country’s security forces.
The crackdown has extended to football – in that Mahini, a World Cup veteran and long-time defender of Iran’s top club Persepolis, was reportedly arrested for publicly supporting the protests; but also in that the current national team, according to the players, lived under a strict order to remain silent.
Most of the two dozen players who were due to represent their country at the 2022 World Cup in November remained silent last week as they gathered for their final training camp before the tournament. They played two games as the Iranian Football Federation (IFF), under pressure from the government, restricted media access; and that two spectators, demonstrating peacefully, were expelled from a match by the police; and as their people howled and their cities burned at home.
Sardar Azmoun, a star striker, broke his silence in an Instagram post on Sunday. “At worst I will be fired from the national team, no problem,” he wrote in Farsi, according to rough translations. “I would sacrifice that for a hair on the head of Iranian women. This story will not be deleted. They can do whatever they want. Shame on you for killing so easily; long live Iranian women.”
Shortly after, the post was deleted. A few days later, an apology from Azmoun was posted in his place, and silence was restored. Several players blacked out their Instagram profile pictures. But some Iranians, including those risking their lives on the streets, have criticized the players for not taking a relatively small risk and speaking out.
When the players wore black jackets during the national anthem ahead of their match on Tuesday, some Western media interpreted it as a silent statement of solidarity with protesters. But an Iranian activist, who leads the Twitter account @OpenStadiums, told Yahoo Sports that “it was just their normal jacket.” She didn’t interpret it as solidarity; “the national team is very watched by the [Iranian security] forces and they won’t specifically let them do that,” she said. None of the players mentioned it.
Iranian players break the silence and support women
When boot camp ended, however, they started talking. “The last few days at the national team camp have been very hard for us,” defender Morteza Pouraliganji wrote.
“Hello, now it’s time to write down the things after finishing camp that I really wanted to tell you,” Azmoun wrote on Wednesday, alongside a photo of Iran’s women’s volleyball team. “My heart really broke for Mahsa Amini,” he wrote in a message of solidarity with all Iranian women.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh, another striker star, posted a black square and wrote, in part, according to an Instagram translation: “Due to camp conditions and rules regarding cyberspace, we were not allowed to operate We are the soldiers of [the Iranian] people and we will always stand by our people. … That’s not too much to ask for their most basic human rights. These people should be treated with more dignity and respect.”
Midfielder Saman Ghoddos, who was born in Sweden and now plays in England, wrote in Farsi and English: “As an Iranian who did not grow up in Iran, I am delighted and surprised [sic] by the courage of the women of my country. These kind and brave people deserve the best life. And to have the right to all the social services of the modern world. In times of protest, the police have a responsibility to protect them, especially women and children, and put them under their protection. These people have done nothing wrong. They just want their human rights which they want to see fulfilled. Long live my dear Iran and its amazing people.”
In a separate caption, Ghoddos wrote, “Rest in peace to all who lost their lives fighting for freedom. #MahsaAmini.”
The biggest flurry of social media posts, however, came on Friday after news surfaced that Mahini, who played 23 games for the national team from 2011 to 2017, had been arrested for “promotion”.[ing] disorder and chaos,” according to Iranian state media. His house was also reportedly searched. Over a dozen current national team players pictures posted from Mahini, 36, to their Instagram Stories.
“Now footballers see how the real situation [is]”The OpenStadiums activist, who is protecting her identity to avoid retaliation from Iranian authorities, told Yahoo Sports.
However, many of the posts were measured and opened players up to continued criticism. Alongside a football photo on Wednesday, two weeks after Amini’s death, goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand wrote, vaguely: “The voice of the masses is the voice of God.” A commentator asked him: “You woke up after sleeping? How much is the World Cup worth to you? More than the lives of our own people?”
Calls to expel Iran from the World Cup
Several players tried to present their national team efforts as representatives of the Iranian people. But for many, they are inextricably linked to government. “The Iranian [soccer federation]led by former commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is an important ambassador of the Islamic Republic and acts in accordance with the repressive regime,” OpenStadiums wrote in an open letter on Friday. “We no longer believe that this team represents us or represents our values as Iranian citizens.”
This letter, addressed to the President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, called on FIFA to expel Iran from the 2022 World Cup. He cited two FIFA statutes, one of which states that football’s world governing body “is committed to respecting all internationally recognized human rights and will endeavor to promote the protection of these rights”.
The other states: “FIFA remains neutral in matters of politics and religion. Exceptions can be made in relation to matters affected by FIFA’s statutory objectives.”
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday morning. Iran are due to open their World Cup campaign on November 21 against England and conclude the Group B match on November 29 against the United States.