The eleven Iranian players refrained from singing their national anthem before the kick-off of their first match of the 2022 World Cup against England, Monday in Doha, in a sign of support for the victims of the demonstrations harshly repressed in their country.
During the week, their captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh had explained that the players would decide “collectively” whether or not to sing the national anthem.
During this hymn, the cameras briefly showed the face of a spectator in her fifties, a white veil over her head, her face bathed in tears.
Placards in the stands
The players kept their faces completely impassive, while on the bench, a member of the delegation sang. Physically diminished, the star of the team Sardar Azmoun, who denounced the repression on social networks, does not hold.
“Women Life Freedom”, could be read in English on a banner in the stands occupied by the Iranians, which, withdrawn, quickly disappeared.
An Iranian fan holding a “Woman Life Freedom” sign on November 21, 2022 during the match between Iran and England at the 2022 World Cup in Doha. [ALESSANDRA TARANTINO – KEYSTONE]
“It’s too late”
The players also showed no joy on their two goals. But was it a political message or more surely simple spite in front of a sporting rout (6-2 defeat), the worst in the history of Iranian football since its first World Cup in 1978 (4-1 against Peru? ). Striker Alireza Jahanbakhsh said on Wednesday that whether or not to celebrate a goal would be a “personal” choice.
>> Read also: England make short work of Iran
The silence of the footballers during the anthem, however, will not be enough to convince those who consider their support too timid. “It’s too late,” said Mazyar Yosefi, municipal councilor in Epalinges (VD) and supporter of the Iranian opposition, Monday in the 7:30 p.m. of the RTS.
The team’s meeting with the ultra-conservative president Ibrahim Raïssi, just before leaving for Qatar, had been widely criticized on social networks. “With this meeting, the players lost the match against the Iranian people, adds Mazyar Yosefi. (…) Since the beginning of the revolt, we separate the Islamic Republic and Iran in two words. The national team s ranks behind the Islamic Republic.”
>> Mazyar Yosefi’s interview in the 7:30 p.m.:
Several refusals to sing the anthem
Since the beginning of the uprising in Iran, caused by the death on September 16 of the young Mahsa Amini, 22, arrested by the morality police in Tehran for not respecting the strict dress code imposed by the regime, the refusal to sing the anthem of the Islamic Republic has become one of the levers used by Iranian sportsmen to show their support for the movement.
On Sunday, Iranian justice announced that it had summoned Yahya Golmohammadi, former international and current coach of the Persepolis club, one of the most popular in the country with Esteghlal. He had strongly criticized on Instagram last week the players of the national team for not “bringing the voice of the oppressed people to the ears of the authorities”, after their meeting with Ebrahim Raïsi.
On September 27, the national football team refused to sing this song before a friendly preparation match for the World Cup played in Austria against Senegal (1-1). Dressed in a black parka devoid of any crest and obscuring the Federation logo, the players remained silent, most with their heads bowed.
This symbolic gesture, sometimes coupled with the wearing of a black armband as a sign of mourning, has since been taken up by many other Iranian athletes during competitions abroad.
>> Forum details:
>> Read also: Xhaka and six other captains forced to give up ‘One Love’ armband in Qatar
afp/vajo
Tags: Iran football team show support protesters remaining silent anthem rts .ch
