“Say her name! Say her name!” Iranian demonstrators shouted in front of the stadium in Mödling, around 20 kilometers south of Vienna. The Iranian national soccer team prepared for the World Cup in Qatar on Tuesday evening with a friendly match against Senegal. The reason for the demonstration: the death of Mahsa Amini. A 22-year-old woman who died in Tehran on September 13 after being arrested by the vice squad. She had not worn the hijab, the head covering required by the Iranian religious authorities.
Amini’s death triggered nationwide protests in Iran that are still ongoing. The police are accused of beating the young woman to death. More than 70 people are said to have been killed in the demonstrations.
The Iranian team’s World Cup friendly in Austria was dominated by the unrest in Iran. “We are here to ask the players to support us,” Mehran Mostaed, one of the protesters, told DW. The 39-year-old, who lives in Vienna, made an appeal to the national players: “You support the dictators by playing for them. Please support us, because these dictators are killing our young people on the streets!”
Footballers join the protests
Players showed their support in their own way. When playing the national anthems, they wore black jackets to hide their national jerseys. When Sardar Azmoun, a professional with Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverkusen, scored the equalizer for Iran to make it 1-1, he didn’t celebrate. The entire team silently walked to the center circle to continue the game.
Azmoun had clearly expressed his sympathy for the demonstrations in Iran on Instagram – regardless of the possible consequences for himself. “The ultimate [Strafe] is being kicked out of the national team, which would be a small price to pay for every strand of hair on an Iranian woman. Shame on you for simply killing the people and women of Iran! Long live Iranian women!” Azmoun wrote. The Instagram story was later deleted.
Several members of the Iran team had already posted redacted images on social media during the week. Are you now in danger of being dropped from the World Cup squad because of this indirectly expressed criticism of the leadership in Tehran?
Leverkusen’s Sardar Azmoun (3rd from right) protests against the Iranian regime on social media
Supporting Iranian ex-soccer stars
Former Iranian soccer players have also openly positioned themselves against the rulers in Tehran in the past few days. Former Bayern Munich professional Ali Karimi and Iranian football legend Ali Daei also spoke out on social media.
Karimi made an appeal to the Iranian army: “The homeland is waiting for you. Do not allow the blood of innocent people to be spilled!” Supporters of the regime then called on social networks for Karimi to be arrested.
Daei, who played 149 times for Iran in his illustrious career and scored 109 goals, sent this message to the regime: “Instead of oppressing the Iranian people, using violence and arresting people, you should solve their problems.”
Strong sign towards Iran
In Iran, women are denied freedoms. This usually includes men’s access to soccer games. In this respect, the use of the Austrian assistant referee Sara Telek in the game in Mödling was a clear sign in the direction of Iran, where the use of a female referee in a men’s game would be unthinkable. Millions of people in Iran could now watch the live broadcast of the game on television as Telek did her job routinely and professionally, without a hijab and in shorts.
For all TV viewers in Iran to see: linesman Sara Telek without a hijab and without trousers
UEFA made the decision to use Telek, a member of the organization team told DW. The Iranian delegation did not raise any objection. “This is Austria, we organized the game according to Austrian law,” said the official.
An Iranian journalist, who did not want to give his name publicly, welcomed the fact that a woman was appointed as assistant referee and that this was also shown on Iranian television. “The laws in Iran have to change,” the employee of the independent, London-based broadcaster Iran International told DW. “Women must have the same rights as men.”
At the World Cup in Qatar, the Iranian team will meet teams from the USA, Wales and England. Given the ongoing protests both on and off the pitch, a quiet preparation is not to be expected.
Translated from English by Jörg Strohschein
