Iran’s national soccer team players have not sung the anthem before the start of their first match at the World Cup in Qatar, in a gesture interpreted as a sign of support for the protests rocking the Islamic Republic since the death of young Mahsa Amini.
Iranian television interrupted the broadcast after noting the silence of the players, according to the DPA news agency, which also confirmed that some fans had booed the anthem inside the stadium itself. Among the crowd at the Jalifa International Stadium were people with the emblem ‘Woman, Life and Liberty’ on their clothing.
Later, at a press conference after the match, the captain of the Iranian national team, Ehsan Hajsafi, acknowledged that the conditions in the country «are not suitable», and acknowledged that the team is competing to represent the population as best they can.
«Everything we have is for them, and we must fight. We must play to the best of our ability and score goals to represent the brave people of Iran with good results,» Hajsafi said, according to a video picked up by British broadcaster Sky News.
Already on Sunday, the Iranian captain called for reforms in Iran and expressed his condolences to the families of those killed in the protests — more than 400, according to human rights organizations. The coach, Carlos Queiroz, assured that the players were free to express their views on the situation in Iran as they wished.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has urged sportsmen not to «disrespect» the country in their participation abroad, aware of the importance of messages coming from an area especially followed within Iranian borders.
In fact, the team had been criticized after posing on November 14 with the president, Ebrahim Raisi, which was understood as an alignment with the government at a time when thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest the death of Amini, arrested for wearing the veil incorrectly, and to demand social progress.
