Sport

Iranwire – In Iran, the doors to stadiums have once again been closed to women. On Tuesday, October 12, the Iranian and South Korean national football teams went head to head in a qualifying match for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It took place in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium without any spectators. Iranian officials cited the pandemic as the reason for the empty …

Iranwire – In what might be one of the most expensive incidences of nepotism in the history of the Islamic Republic, a little-known developer and restauranteur named Arash Adibnia has abruptly been made an “advisor” to the president of Iran’s Football Federation. The appointment has cost the treasury more than 52 billion tomans, or around US$12.5m. Adibnia’s football credentials are anyone’s …

Iranwire – On Saturday, at a meeting with Iranian medalists in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympics games, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei once again drew attendees back to the only topic that concerns him in the sporting arena: Israel. Using harsher language than usual, Khamenei told officials “not to be passive” in refusing to accept Israel’s legitimacy at international sports contests. He …

RFL/RE – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranian athletes that they must continue to refrain from playing competitive sports against Israelis, even if they are disciplined by international bodies for it.“Any Iranian athlete worthy of the name cannot shake hands with a representative of the criminal regime in order to win a medal,” Khamenei told a reception for …

Iranwire – The Iranian women’s national football team has headed to Tashkent, Uzbekistan to participate in the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers. After a long interruption to their activities and the loss of a FIFA ranking, the team woke up from a two-year slumber in May with the selection of Maryam Irandoost as the new head coach. Four months of gruelling training …

Iranwire – After years of relative silence, a group of Iranian women athletes have told their stories of sexual discrimination and violence in sport. On Monday, at 8:30 pm Tehran time, IranWire hosted the “Sports Room” event on Clubhouse, offering women a space to talk about their experiences. For close to two hours, they told their painful stories, many of them for the first time, from …

Iranwire – Referee Gelareh Nazemi has again made history, defying Iran’s federation rules to officiate in the Futsal World Cup in Lithuania. Nazemi, who had previously become the first Iranian woman to referee in the men’s competition in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, presided over the World Cup match between Guatemala and Egypt on September 15 in Lithuania. Egypt won …

Iranwire – It is one year since Iran executed Navid Afkari, a wrestler from Shiraz, after sentencing him to death on trumped up charges. Navid Afkari and his brothers Habib and Vahid joined thousands of people in popular protests across Iran in August 2018. He was arrested on charges of moharebeh [war against God] and of murdering a security officer. He …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – A year has passed since protester and wrestler, Navid Afkari was executed after being denied due process, tortured to make false confessions, and subjected to a grossly unfair trial. Iran Human Rights considered his execution to be unlawful and a criminal act, and called for action beyond just condemnations by the international community. A year on, Iran Human Rights reiterates …

CNN – Wrestler Navid Afkari was executed by the Iranian government on September 12, 2020. The story of his life and the movement he has inspired is being republished by CNN International to mark the anniversary of his death. This article was first published on June 28, 2021. It was the worst news that anybody could have woken up to; …