Iran’s national team sang the national anthem before their World Cup match against Wales in Qatar on Friday, days after the players remained silent in apparent support for anti-government protesters in their country.
As the anthem began, the stadium audience erupted in loud boos.
Some of the players closed their eyes as they sang, others barely muttered the words.
However, there seemed to be some sympathy for the players, who many believe have faced unbearable pressure following their protest in the opening game. Iranian fans could be seen crying in the stands throughout the anthem.
Before the match, pro-government fans harassed anti-government fans outside the Qatar stadium.
Some Iranian fans confiscated pre-revolutionary Persian flags from fans entering the stadium and shouted insults at those wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan of the country’s protest movement, “Woman, Life, Freedom”.
Small mobs of men angrily chanted “The Islamic Republic of Iran” against women who gave interviews about the protests to foreign media.
Many female fans were visibly agitated as supporters of the Iranian government surrounded them with national flags and filmed them on their phones.
At the gates of the security control of the Ahmad Bin Ali stadium, there were shouting matches between fans who shouted “Women, life, freedom” and others who replied “The Islamic Republic”.
Friday’s match came a day after Iranian security forces detained national soccer player Voria Ghafouri on charges of spreading “propaganda” against the Islamic Republic, the Fars news agency reported.
Ahead of Monday’s match in Qatar, in which the players did not sing, captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh said the team would jointly decide whether to refuse to sing the anthem in a show of solidarity for the protests that have rocked the regime in Iran.
The Iranian players remained impassive and sullen as their anthem was played at Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium ahead of their opener against England.
Iran has been protesting across the country for two months, since the death of Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police on September 16.
Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, died three days after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged violation of the Islamic Republic’s women’s dress code, which includes the mandatory hijab headscarf.
Some Iranian athletes have chosen not to sing the national anthem or celebrate their victories in support of the protesters. Hundreds of Iranians have been killed in the deadly crackdown since the protests began.
Information of: israelnews.com
photo credit: AFP
