Preparation for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar (November 20 to December 18) is, to say the least, disrupted for the Iranian selection.
The demonstrations in progress in Iran indeed shake the national team as for the position to adopt vis-a-vis the repression of the movement.
For the “Team Melli”, this World Cup on its doorstep was already announced to be politically charged, with a group match on November 29 against the United States.
But the protest movement that has rocked the country since September 16 and the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, three days after she was arrested in Tehran for violating the dress code, has caught up with an influential national team in a country passionate about football. round.
During a friendly match against Senegal on Tuesday evening, near Vienna in Austria, demonstrators gathered outside the stadium chanted slogans hostile to the authorities in Tehran and called on national team players to support the movement going on in Iran.
Football is also that:
During the anthem, the Iranian players hid their jerseys and
some expressed themselves on the RS: “I'm not afraid of being ousted.
Shame on you for killing the people so easily and long live the women of Iran.”Sardar Azmounpic.twitter.com/ejXzpVcsRB
— François Saltiel (@fsaltiel) September 28, 2022
Access to this content has been blocked to respect your choice of consent
By clicking on "
I ACCEPT
", you accept the deposit of cookies by external services and will thus have access to the content of our partners
I ACCEPT
And to better remunerate 20 Minutes, do not hesitate to accept all cookies, even for one day only, via our "I accept for today" button in the banner below.
More information on the Cookie Management Policy page.
A black parka devoid of any coat of arms
“We are here to implore the team: please support us instead of opposing us,” said Mehran Mostaed, one of the organizers of the rally.
“Of course there are repercussions for a football player who expresses his support for the movement, because in Iran the consequences are really important for those who oppose the regime.
But, clearly, they have to be prepared to suffer the consequences,” he added.
The "Melli" players wore a black parka devoid of any coat of arms and hiding the jersey of the national team at the time of the presentation of the teams and anthems against Senegal, without however giving any explanation for this gesture.
More than any other, the statements of the star striker of the selection, Sardar Azmoun, who plays in the German club Bayer Leverkusen, are scrutinized.
“It cannot be erased from our consciousness”
Earlier this week, Iranian football bloggers posted screenshots of messages posted on Sardar Azmoun's Instagram account, where the player spoke about the team blackout: "Due to restrictive rules weighing on Team Melli, I cannot say anything”.
But the 27-year-old striker had apparently decided to ignore it, believing that he could not remain silent in the face of the repression of the movement in Iran, which left several dozen dead.
“It cannot be erased from our consciousness.
Shame on you,” he posted.
His comment was later deleted and the contents of the player's Instagram account, followed by around 5 million people, disappeared for several days.
After the friendly match against Senegal, during which Sardar Azmoun came on in the second half and scored the equalizer for his team (1-1), his Instagram account resurfaced and the player apologized for his positions .
“No division within Team Melli”
"I apologize to my national team comrades as my hasty actions have prompted insults from bloggers against them and disrupted peace and order within the team," he said.
There was no pressure on me to write or delete a comment on Instagram.
There is no division within Team Melli.
Sardar Azmoun added another message in support of a women's volleyball team in Gonbad-e Qabus, his hometown, noting that Amini's death "has left a pain in the heart of the nation that history will never forget”.
The demonstrators who claim the support of their national team can also count on the aura of the other great star of Iranian football, the former striker of the selection Ali Karimi.
The latter has multiplied the positions taken on social networks to support the current protest movement and denounce the death of Amini, believing that “nothing could erase this ignominy”.
"I seek only the peace, comfort and well-being of people in the four corners of the country," he justified.
The legendary Ali Daei has taken a stand
International defender Majid Hosseini, who plays in Turkey with Kayserispor, and international midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi, on loan from Danish club Vejle BK to Qatari side Al-Gharafa, also showed their support on Instagram.
These statements were followed by an article from the Fars news agency calling for his arrest and suggesting that his real estate in Iran could be seized.
Other big names in Iranian football have followed suit, such as Mehdi Mahdavikia, former captain of the national team, who accused the authorities of "ignoring the people".
As for Ali Daei, a legendary player in his country, he urged the regime "to solve the problems of the Iranian people rather than resorting to repression, violence and arrests".
World
Protests in Iran: Can the revolt end in victory for the people?
World
Protests in Iran: Mahsa Amini died after “a blow to the head”, according to her cousin
Sport
Soccer
Iran
Crisis in Iran
World Cup 2022
Company
World