The Iranian team at the FIFA World Cup.©AFP
Iran’s players did not sing their national anthem before their first World Cup match against England on Monday, in clear support for anti-government protesters in their home country. Ahead of the game in Qatar, captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh said the team would decide together whether or not to refuse to sing the national anthem in a show of solidarity with demonstrations that have shaken the regime in Iran. The Iranian players stood impassive and grim-faced as their national anthem echoed around the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.
Iran has been rocked by two months of nationwide protests since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody on September 16. Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish descent, died three days after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged violation of the Islamic Republic’s dress code for women, including the mandatory hijab headscarf.
Some Iranian athletes have chosen not to sing the national anthem or celebrate their victories in support of the protesters. Jahanbakhsh, who used to play for English club Brighton, was angry last week at a question from a British journalist about the national anthem issue.
“Each player celebrates a different party and you ask about the national anthem and that’s something that also needs to be decided in the team, which we already talked about,” he said.
“But we honestly never made it a problem because everyone only thinks about football.”
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Nearly 400 people have been killed in the crackdown since Amini’s death, according to the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights. The state’s response has led to questions about whether the team represents Iran or the regime that has ruled with an iron fist since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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