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Iranwire – A source familiar with the situation told IranWire that security agencies have pressured the players and coaching staff of Iran’s Women’s National Football Team after their match against South Korea by threatening their families.
According to the source, tensions escalated after the Women’s Asian Cup match between Iran and South Korea, when several players and coaches declined to sing the Islamic Republic’s national anthem during the pre-game ceremony. In response, security bodies – working alongside the Football Federation and the Ministry of Sport and Youth – reportedly reached out to the players’ immediate family members. They warned that if the team members continue to refuse to sing the anthem or decline to perform a “military salute” in the second match, their relatives would face arrest.
In Iran, choosing not to sing the national anthem has evolved into a powerful act of quiet resistance, particularly since the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests in 2022. For readers outside the country, the “military salute” refers to a gesture the state has increasingly required from athletes as a public display of loyalty to the Supreme Leader and the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), especially in periods of heightened conflict.
This tactic has been used before. In 2022, when climber Elnaz Rekabi competed in South Korea without wearing the mandatory hijab, IRGC Intelligence reportedly detained her brother, Davood Rekabi. The move was widely seen as pressure to compel Elnaz to return to Iran, where she later appeared at Khomeini Airport and delivered what many described as a forced confession.
The informed source told IranWire that the players of the Women’s National Team have been warned that if they fail to sing the state anthem, fail to perform the military salute, or attempt to seek asylum in Australia and refuse to return to Iran, their immediate family members, such as parents, spouses, or siblings, will be detained by IRGC Intelligence.
Mohammad Reza Shahbazi, a host on state-run television (IRIB), reacted on Thursday, March 5, to the players’ refusal to sing the anthem against South Korea. He called the players “dishonorable” and urged officials to treat them as “traitors in a time of war” so that “the rest will learn to fall in line.”
The term “bi-sharaf” is a highly charged insult in Iran, often used by pro-regime hardliners against dissidents. Calling for athletes to be treated as “traitors in a time of war” is an implicit threat of the death penalty or long-term imprisonment under military tribunal rules, which are currently active given the 2026 conflict with the U.S. and Israel.
According to information obtained by IranWire, since January 10, Mohsen Motamed-Kia, the head of Public Relations at the Ministry of Sport and Youth, has been responsible for submitting daily reports to IRGC Intelligence detailing athletes’ social media activity and personal interactions. The Football Federation, led by Mehdi Taj – a retired brigadier general from IRGC Intelligence in Isfahan – has also maintained close coordination with security and state agencies in recent years.
