Sport

Iranwire – In the past two weeks, two senior Iranian government officials have issued explicit death and kidnapping threats against the exiled football legend Ali Karimi. Karimi left Iran in the fall of 2022 after receiving multiple threats from the authorities. During the 2022 uprising, the retired football player used his notoriety to defend the protesters who faced a bloody crackdown by security forces. And …

Iranwire – The paramilitary Basij force, in collaboration with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian football federation, plans to send over 300 of its members to Qatar during the upcoming Asian Cup football tournament, IranWire reveals. The competition will be held in Doha from January 12. Iran’s national team has been placed in Group C alongside Palestine, …

iranintl – Reza Rasaei and Mojahed Kourkour, protesters sentenced to death, have been dispatched for execution. Azardokht Haqjouyan, Reza Rasaei’s mother, asserted her son’s innocence and pleaded for assistance to prevent the execution of his death sentence. She revealed that her son’s extensive 1,500-page case file had been reviewed within a week. Rasaei faces accusations of “murder” in connection with …

iranintl – Iranian women’s national soccer team player, and Emory University team member Melika Mohammadi, tragically died in a car accident last week, while visiting Iran. On Sunday, she was commemorated at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium before her repatriation to the United States for burial. Born in the southern Iranians city of Shiraz in 2000, Mohammadi died on December 24 at …

VOA – Female football fans in Iran claimed a small win Thursday in their long campaign to be allowed into stadiums to watch men’s games after decades of exclusion. A photograph was posted on social media by the campaign group Open Stadiums of three female fans inside the Azadi Stadium in Tehran for the game between city rivals Persepolis and …

RFL/RE – In a bold act of defiance, an Iranian judge at the 2023 World Wushu Championships in the United States appeared without the mandatory hijab, igniting a controversy back home where the head scarf has become a flashpoint in a battle for women’s rights. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, Arghavan Jalali Farahani explained that her decision was “a …

Iranwire – The head of Iran’s deaf sports federation was dismissed from his post this week after images emerged of a foreign woman athlete without a compulsory headscarf at a tournament in Tehran. Mehran Tishehgaran was removed from his position “due to events that happened in the Asian Deaf Athletics Championships,” the semi-official ISNA news agency said late on November …

Iranwire — Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei discussed the importance of sports in promoting Iranian values and culture, as he met with medalists of the Asian and Asian Para Games. During the meeting on November 22, Khamenei reiterated his call on Iranian athletes to refuse to compete against Israelis, calling them “representatives of a criminal and terrorist regime.” He commended the …

Iranwire – A former member of Iran’s Wushu national team says he has been banned from leaving the country as part of the punishments imposed by the authorities over his support of nationwide protests. In a video posted on Instagram on November 9, martial art athlete Farshid Asadian says he is grappling with severe livelihood challenges after his assets were …

Iranwire – Iranian football team Sepahan was penalized with a 3-0 loss and a fine over a canceled Asian Champions League match against Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad, according to Iranian media. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has not issued a public statement about the reported decision. Al Ittihad was set to play Sepahan in Isfahan on October 2 but walked …