In support of the Iranian national team goalkeeper in the face of a bullying campaign on social media, the Tehran municipality uploaded large pictures of Zahra Qadi in its streets.
Many supporting phrases were written on the photos, such as "the heroic girl" and "the flower of my soul, the pride of Iran."
And Qadi broke her silence - a few days ago - revealing the first move towards the Jordan Football Association.
Qadi said that she would "prosecute the Jordan Football Association before the judiciary, on charges of bullying," stressing that the goal is to "rehabilitate and restore dignity," after publicly questioning her gender and the possibility that she is not a woman.
Kadi, 32, saved two penalties in a 4-2 penalty shootout win over Jordan in Uzbekistan on September 25, which means that Iran's women's team qualified for the first time ever for the Asian Women's Cup.
It is noteworthy that the Iranian women's team qualified for the 2022 Asian Nations Championship, which will be held in India, after defeating its Jordanian counterpart in a penalty shootout.
Posters of Zohreh Koudaei, the goalkeeper of the Women's Football National Team, were hung in the squares of capital Tehran to support her following accusations from the Jordanian Football Association that she was a man.https://t.co/gtkFbfXNSv
🎥: Eisa Mohammadi pic.twitter.com/UTfJtZEvud
— Anadolu Images (@anadoluimages) November 20, 2021
And the original time of the match, which was held in the Uzbek capital Tashkent, ended with a 0-0 draw, so the two teams decided to penalty kicks, in which the Iranian goalkeeper shone and led her team to qualify for the continental championship.
After the match, the Jordan Football Association called on the Asian Football Confederation to "verify the gender of my ancestor", and open an investigation to determine the gender of the goalkeeper, whether male or female.
The AFC responded to the Jordanian complaint quickly, stressing that the investigation proved that the Iranian player's gender is female.
Qadi said that she will pursue the Jordanian Football Association in court, on charges of bullying (Anadolu Agency)
The president of the Jordan Football Association, Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, shared the message last Saturday, describing it as a "very serious issue if it is true" and calling on the AFC to "wake up".
An AFC spokesperson said: "The AFC does not comment on ongoing investigations or proceedings, whether actual or potential."
Maryam Irandost, the coach of the Iranian women's soccer team, refused to question the gender of the team's goalkeeper or any other player, and said that the team's medical staff had carefully examined the hormones of all the players to respond to any (expected) complaint against them with official documents.
Many of the phrases supporting the player were carried by the images, such as “the heroic girl” and “the flower of my soul.. the pride of Iran” (Anatolia).
Irandost believed that the Jordanian team - which was a strong candidate to qualify - was looking for an "excuse" to lose the match, stressing that the accusation was used to cover up Jordan's loss.
And she continued, "The medical staff carefully examined all the players of the national team in terms of hormones to avoid any problems in this regard."
The coach said that "Qady" represented her country in the 2008 and 2010 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, adding, "We will submit any documents requested by the Asian Football Confederation without wasting time."
Irandost concluded, "These allegations are just an excuse not to accept the defeat against the Iranian women's team. The Jordanian team considered itself the biggest candidate to qualify, and when it lost, it was natural to seek false pretexts and evade responsibility for this failure."