When the Iranian national team qualified for the World Cup in late January, the nation was already celebrating their participation as if they had won a title. The anticipation of meeting the best teams and international stars was enormous. But then everything turned out differently.
The death of a young woman in police custody has sparked the most violent protests in decades. The security apparatus reacted with extreme severity. The horror for the many demonstrators killed was great. And with arms supplies to Russia for the war in Ukraine, pressure is mounting domestically and internationally.
The Iranian footballers of “Team Melli” are also increasingly trapped between the fronts. While associations were already calling for Iran’s exclusion from the World Cup, activists were still hoping for expressions of solidarity from the players, who are likely to come under scrutiny like hardly any other team on the world stage. The political leadership of Tehran, which is in one of the most serious crises of recent times, wants to prevent this at all costs. Fittingly, photos with President Ebrahim Raisi were posted before the departure.
Iran meets archenemy USA
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