Prior to their Monday encounter against England in the FIFA World Cup, Iranian players objected to singing the nation’s anthem.
This and the nationwide demonstrations that have been taking place since September 17 could not possibly be unrelated.
When Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old lady, passed away while being held by the morality police, there was outrage across Iran.
Widespread protests have resulted as a result, with Iranians calling for the ouster of President Ebrahim Raisi.
Security personnel are still putting up a fight against the protesting crowds, and more than 200 citizens have died in the bloodshed.
The national anthem was officially performed in the stadium, but the players in Qatar chose not to sing along in what appeared to be solidarity with the people back home.
The players has previously supported the demonstrators on the field, so this was nothing new. For their friendly match against Senegal in late September, they decided to hide the national colors by donning black jackets.
The squad visited with President Raisi before departing for Doha for the World Cup, however the meeting was not well received by demonstrators, and team banners were destroyed the night before the competition.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh, the captain of Iran’s football team, declined to say whether or not his team would perform the national anthem during a news conference on Wednesday.
Jahanbakhsh stated, “That’s something that also needs to be decided upon in the team, which we already discussed and obviously everyone is talking about.
Additionally, on Sunday, defender Ehsan Hajsafi made history by becoming the first Iranian World Cup participant to openly endorse the demonstrations.
They need to be aware that “we are with them, that we support them, and that we are sympathetic to the conditions,” he stated.
In their first game at The Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar, England defeated Iran 6-2.
