Voice of London

Fans celebrate defeat to the USA after Iran is knocked out the World Cup. Many supporters fear for the safety of the players once they return to Iran.

On 21 November, Iran played their opening World Cup match against England, who won with a score of 6-2.

However, this football match was mainly characterised by an event not directly related to the game. It concerned the death of an Iranian woman of Kurdish descent, Mahsa Amini, who was murdered in police custody.

Amini was allegedly arrested in mid-September for not wearing a hijab properly and breaking the law.

When news of her death broke out, protests began in her home province of Kurdistan and later spread to several major cities in Iran. The protests have been going on for over two months now, as more members of the public have come out in solidarity.

Protesters have taken to various social media platforms to voice their displeasure with the Iranian government. For example, Iranian actor Elnaaz Norouzi posted a viral video on Instagram where she is seen removing her burqa and revealing her body only covered in a bikini in front of the camera.

These increased social media protests resulted in the Iranian government restricting the use of WhatsApp and Instagram. The protests have so far resulted in over 400 deaths.

The Iranian football team joined the protests while in Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium, Qatar, for their opening match against England by refusing to sing the national anthem.

A day before their opening match, the team’s captain Ehsan Hajisafi made it clear to the journalists that they would be siding with the protesters as they believed their government had violated fundamental human rights. He told press that they respected the protesters and wanted to be their voice by conveying the message at an international level.

The Iranian football fans at the match continued with the protests before and during the opening match, displaying signs written “Woman, Life, and Freedom”. They even chanted Mahsa Amini’s name during the match.

The protests have been intense both in and out of football, as the Iranian national team bows out of the tournament following a defeat by the United States in the final group stage match.

During this game, Kurdish activist Kaveh Ghoreishi shared a video on social media showing residents of Sanandaj city, the capital of Kurdistan province, celebrating Christian Pulisic’s goal, which gave the US the lead in the first half. More social media videos show Iranians in Mahabad city, in the West Azerbaijan province, celebrating the full-time whistle by setting off fireworks and cheering in the streets.

As the Iranian team heads home, political commentators and human rights activists will closely watch whether the country’s government will take any action against the players. As seen in the past weeks, the government has been determined to silence celebrities who stand in solidarity with the protesters.

For example, both Katayoun Riahi and Hengameh Ghaziani were detained by the Iranian moral police after they shared social videos of themselves removing headscarves or wearing bikinis only to show solidarity with the protesters.

The move by the popular actors to share such videos angered the government due to their influence beyond the Iranian border. For instance, 40 actors supported their Iranian counterparts by sharing a compiled video on Twitter where they were seen cutting off their hair as a way of protesting against the injustice.

Other international figures publicly denouncing the Iranian government’s action include former US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.

The world is watching how the Iranian government will respond to the protests extended to the football pitch in Qatar.

Words: Maryam Shahzadi| Subbing: Yana Trup