Iranian footballers Karim Ansarifard and Morteza Pouralikanji on Friday refused to answer questions about solidarity with women in their country, a day after teammate Alireza Jahanbakhsh said the questions were a ploy to distract them from the World Cup.
Several Iranian male and female athletes have taken advantage of international tournaments to voice their support for the protests that have rocked the country since the death of young woman Mahsa Amini (22) in September after she was arrested by morality police.
Jahanbakhsh accused the English media of distracting the Iranian team, one of the teams qualified to participate in the tournament, from Asia ahead of the first group match against England.
“My professional duty is to play football and your professional duty is to ask questions, but we all have to do things according to our professions,” Ansarifard told reporters through a translator at the Iranian team’s training camp in Al-Rayyan, in Qatar.
He continued, “This is why we always stand up for each other and tell the truth. different. Personally, I came here as an expression of respect. Because of what happened, what I say will be interpreted differently by (the media).
When the question was put to Pourali Kenji, the coordinator stepped in and asked to ask questions about the World Cup only.
But Ansarifard said, pressed by reporters, that he and his teammates were playing for “all the men and women of Iran”. “It is an incomparable honor that our fathers or brothers, our men or women come to the stadiums,” he added.
“We play for all the men and women of our country. When I say the people of my country, there are no exceptions. That includes all men and all women.” “We respect all the fans around the world. Iran has some of the best fans … and we are very proud of them,” she added.
Ansarifard, 32, is playing in his third World Cup and the player, who spent a year with Nottingham Forest, has said he will use all his experience to help Iran qualify for the second round for the first time.
