Iran’s national football team refrained from performing the national anthem ahead of their World Cup match with England on Monday, in a move believed to be an expression of solidarity with anti-government protesters.
The players remained silent and looked serious as the anthem was played ahead of the match, which was held at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Thousands of Iranian fans cheered in the stands as music blared. Some held banners reading “Woman…Life…Freedom”.
Iranian coach Carlos Queiroz said his players were “free to protest”.
The demonstrations, which have been going on for more than two months, sparked by the death of young Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police, are seen as one of the most serious challenges facing the Iranian regime since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
And the official Iranian TV interrupted the live coverage of the match, when the players lined up before the match in conjunction with the playing of the national anthem.
But some believe the Iranian national team has lost public support inside Iran, with many accusing them of siding with the state’s violent crackdown on protesters, including women and children, seeking the fall of the Islamic Republic .
The team was, as usual, a great source of national pride, but found itself embroiled in politics in the run-up to the World Cup, waiting to see if its players would use the tournament as a platform to support the protests.
On the eve of the match, captain Ehsan Haj-Safi, who plays for Greece, became the first Iranian national player to speak publicly since the World Cup about the situation on his home soil, cautiously saying: “We are with them. We support them. We stand in solidarity with them.”
Iran were defeated 6-2 by England in their opening Group B fixture on Monday. But the defeat was not enough to silence the Iranian fans, who beat their drums throughout the match and cheered ecstatically as striker Mehdi Taremi scored a brace.
Rumors were also raised when Sardar Azmoun, who plays for German club Bayer Leverkusen, arrived as an alternative due to his condemnation of the crackdown on protests in his country.
Iranian fans could be heard chanting “Ali Karimi” at half-time, a reference to the former footballer who is one of the Islamic Republic’s most outspoken critics and one of the most popular faces of the protest movement.
Iranian Dilara Jahani, 37, who lives in Iran, said players stepped up by not singing the national anthem, according to Reuters.
“Their behavior was good for all Iranians who oppose this regime,” he added during the break when Iran trailed 3-0. “What they did was very important, because of their great status. they are with people. They have shown us that they support. “People. Now people are going to feel differently about them.”
Speaking about the half-time incident, BBC’s Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker said: “It was a very powerful and important gesture. Football is trying to use its force for good.”
Rights activists say more than 400 protesters have been killed and 16,800 arrested in a crackdown by Iranian security forces.
Iranian leaders say the protests are “riots” orchestrated by the country’s enemies abroad.
