The passport of Iranian football legend Ali Daei, the second top scorer in the history of the selections, has been confiscated after he denounced the “violence” of the authorities and the “repression” of the demonstrations which have rocked his country since mid- September, local media said Monday. The confiscation of the passport of Ali Daei, who lives in Iran, “is due to what he wrote on Instagram in reaction to the death of Mahsa Amini”, announced the reformist newspaper Hammihan.
Iran has been the scene of protests since the 22-year-old Iranian Kurd died on September 16, after she was arrested in Tehran by vice police who accused her of breaking the Islamic Republic’s dress code for women, especially the wearing of the veil.
Dozens of people, mainly protesters but also members of the security forces, have been killed since that date during rallies described as “riots” by the authorities, while hundreds of others have been arrested. On September 27, Ali Daei, nicknamed “Shahriar” (“king” in Persian), had urged the authorities to “settle the problems of the Iranian people rather than resorting to repression, violence and arrests”.
First Iranian player to play in Europe
Ali Daei was the top scorer in the history of men’s international football until September 2021 when Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo snatched the title. He is also the first Iranian player to play in Europe, where he competed in the German league with Arminia Bielefeld before joining giants Bayern Munich and then Hertha Berlin. On Twitter, the Hertha club regretted on Sunday that its 52-year-old former player was “no longer allowed to leave the country because he spoke out in favor of women’s rights”.
“Ali gave his whole life to raise the flag of Iran, he loves the country and its people and always speaks the truth. What happened to Ali is regrettable,” his brother Mohammad told Iranian sports site Varzesh3 on Sunday. Several Iranian athletes as well as actors and filmmakers supported the protest movement, asking the authorities to listen to the protesters’ demands.
Authorities confiscated the passports of singer Homayoun Shajarian and his wife, actress Sahar Dolatshahi, and filmmaker Mehran Modiri, the Ilna news agency reported on Sunday.
On Thursday, Iranian media reported that ex-Bayern Munich Iranian midfielder Ali Karimi was being prosecuted for encouraging the protests.