A group of people protest the death of Mahsa Amini outside the Iranian Embassy in Nicosia. /
The stars of the national team send messages of support for the protests with the mandatory use of the hijab and risk their participation in the Qatar World Cup
The most serious protests that Iran has experienced in the last three years have reached the national soccer team, which is currently preparing its participation in the next World Cup in Qatar. Those selected by the Portuguese Carlos Queiroz, concentrated in Austria, do not lose sight of the situation in their country and some of the great figures have publicly positioned themselves in favor of the thousands of protesters who are mobilizing against the compulsory use of the veil for women . In the friendly match against Uruguay on Friday, the least important thing was the result because the public expected some gesture from their athletes and they did not disappoint. Zobeir Niknafs, a fine midfielder for Tehran’s Esteghlal, shaved his head in solidarity with the women of his country.
The Iranian team won the Charrúas by a goal to nil in a match that had to be played almost behind closed doors, fearful that the diaspora would take advantage of the moment to mount a great anti-regime scandal in the stands. The players of the national team updated their profiles on social networks as soon as the ninety minutes were over with black motifs in support of the protests.
The most mediatic case was that of the Bayern Leverkusen striker and Team Melli star, Sardar Azmour, who went one step further and took to Instagram, where he has five million followers, to say that “due to the rules of the national team we cannot say anything until the concentration is over, but I can’t take it anymore. In the worst case, I will be fired from the national team. No problem. I’d sacrifice that for a single hair on an Iranian woman’s head. This story will not be deleted. They can do what they want. They are ashamed to kill so easily. Long live Iranian women.”
Goalkeeper Ali Reza Biranvand and defender Majid Hosseini also posted photos and messages on Instagram in support of the demonstrations, but only a few hours later, apparently under pressure, they reportedly removed them. Azmour’s account was also not exempt from pressure and suddenly appeared with all the messages of the last eight years deleted.
The mobilizations are in their second week and there are already at least 70 dead, according to different human rights organizations. In addition, there are hundreds of injured and detained in these protests whose spark was the death of the young Kurdish Mahsa Amini at the hands of the Moral Police. She was arrested in Tehran for not wearing her veil properly and she never made it out of the police station alive. The authorities insist that they will not allow more chaos, but the protests spread to dozens of cities in the country under the slogan “no compulsory hijab”. In the streets they already know that they have the support of a national team from whom they expect a lot in the next world cup. So far, they have already scored a goal for the thousands of protesters.