So now Hossein Mahini. The former Iran international soccer player is the next to feel the pressure from the regime in Tehran. His house was searched and the 36-year-old arrested for supporting the ongoing protests following the violent death of Mahsa Amini. Mahini is thus part of a remarkably broad front of prominent Iranian sportspeople who condemn the violence and take a more or less clear position against the mullahs’ regime.
This also includes creating publicity so that the intimidation attempts by those in power do not remain hidden. The Iranian soccer icon Ali Karimi made Mahini’s arrest public via Twitter. Known for his critical stance, Karimi has become something of a figurehead for the resistance.
He supports the protests on his social media channels. With clear words, the 43-year-old ex-professional of the Bundesliga clubs FC Bayern Munich and FC Schalke 04 condemned the unclear circumstances of Amini’s death. Not even holy water can “wash away this shame,” Karimi wrote. His home in Tehran was briefly confiscated during the week.
National player under criticism
Athletes who take a clear stance against those in power can also be found in other sports. The 32-year-old Sadjad Estaki, who was the first Iranian to play in the national handball league in 2015, declared his resignation from the national handball team in protest. The 38-year-old Mojtaba Abedini, the country’s most successful fencer and captain of the national team, no longer wants to compete for Iran either: “Out of solidarity with the oppressed citizens of my homeland, I see it as my duty, in view of these events and from Respect for them to declare my resignation from the national team.”
Burning barricades in Tehran – the protests have not abated even two weeks after Mahsa Amini’s death
There had recently been clear words from the circle of active national soccer players: “Ashamed of you all, how carelessly people are murdered! Iranian women live long!” wrote Sardar Azmoun, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. On the side After a test match in Austria against Senegal, other Iranian teammates and the violence against the demonstrators had condemned “We are always on the side of the people, who are demanding nothing more these days than their basic rights,” wrote team captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh, echoing this Statements are divided, however. This criticism would come too hesitantly and too timidly, annoyed many fans on social networks. For the national team, which is actually the identification point par excellence for football enthusiasts in Iran, support is crumbling shortly before the World Cup in Qatar.
World Cup exclusion demanded
The Iranian women’s rights movement “Open Stadiums” has asked FIFA to ban Iran from the World Cup. “Why should FIFA give the Iranian state and its representatives a global platform?” reads the letter that the organization personally addressed to FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “This state not only refuses to respect fundamental rights and human dignity. It tortures and kills its own people.” FIFA must react to this.
Pure sport seems to have completely receded into the background in Iran. Solidarity and the fight for more women’s rights unites many: record national player Ali Daei uses Instagram to oppose oppression and violence. With regard to the arrest of Hossein Mahini, the old international Mehdi Mahdavikia does not hesitate to warn those in power: “These days will go down in history,” writes the 45-year-old ex-Bundesliga professional of Hamburger SV and von Eintracht Frankfurt.
He also posted something symbolic: eight hands and arms holding each other. They represent the country’s various ethnic groups, which Tehran fears could fall apart if there is no longer a strong central leadership. Their power is being shaken by the protests.
