Iran’s protests reach the football pitch

Iran has been in flames for the past two weeks, following a wave of protests after the death of Mahsa Amini - a woman who was beaten to death by the country’s ‘morality police’.

As always in Iran, football reflects what is happening in society, among the people.

Since the protests started, more and more footballers are voicing their unrest, and standing by the protesters and the women suffering in the Islamic republic.

'They are calling on FIFA to ban #Iran from the #WorldCup'

After players from the Iranian National Team expressed support for the #MahsaAmini protests, former player Hossein Mahini has been detained and has been restricted from leaving the country, @Levyninho tells @laura_i24 pic.twitter.com/gnRHqRAiho

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) October 2, 2022

It started with Bayer Leverkusen forward, Sardar Azmoun, who wrote on Instagram that, despite being limited with what he can see, he “can’t bear it anymore”.

“I'm not worried about being kicked out of the national team. It will never be erased from our consciousness. Shame on you! You kill easily. Long live the Iranian women!" he added.

Azmoun deleted his story shortly after, but it was an important step. Footballers have started to express their feelings.

Ali Karimi, once referred to as ‘the Persian Maradona’,  has become a prominent critic of the regime, and has been forced to flee the country.

Azmoun and Karimi voiced their feelings during the recent international window, where Iran played beat Uruguay, and drew with Senegal.

Before the match against Senegal, the Iranian squad wore black tracksuits during the national anthem. Azmoun, who started as a substitute, came on and scored Iran's equalizer.

Last weekend, things intensified, with reports of the arrest of footballers Kaveh Rezaei and Houssein Mahini. 

While Rezaei's arrest still awaits confirmation, Mahini is confirmed to be behind bars.

There are also reports that Ali Daei, arguably Iran's greatest ever footballer, had his passport confiscated after reportedly saying that, “instead of repression, violence and arresting the Iranian people, solve their problems".

Not too long ago, Daei was the world's top goalscorer in international football, with 106 goals for Iran. Now he is unable to leave the country until further notice.

Alongside other famous figures, like actors and singers, it seems that the Iranian regime is targeting footballers, due to their public presence.

Still, Iran's players that play abroad continue to shout, and remind the world of what's going on in their country. 

Kayserispor's Majid Hosseini and Porto's Mehdi Taremi, players who frequently appear in Iran's starting eleven, wore black wristbands during their teams' games this weekend.

Once again - our footballers made their positions clear: we support the #IranProtests and #مهسا_امینی .

Our legionnaires wore black wristbands & did not celebrate.

Shahab Zahedi scored a goal today and kissed his black wristband in a tribute to the murdered & arrested in Iran. pic.twitter.com/IVYBrRZ1sX

— Persian Soccer (@prznsoccer) October 3, 2022

The situation is far from a solution, with an increasing number of injuries and casualties.

While there are voices within the country saying that the United States and Israel are behind this wave of rage and protest, the struggle and battle for freedom are real.

Open Stadiums, a group of fans that have been at the front of the fight to get Iranian female fans full access to stadiums in the country, has already called on FIFA to ban Iran from the up-and-coming World Cup. 

They’re currently heading to Qatar in just less than two months' time, with real turmoil back home. 

This includes a group stage matchup with the US - a somewhat symbolic game.

It will be fascinating to see the outcome, both on and off the pitch.