Sport

Iranwire – Iranian professional soccer player Voria Ghafouri has been sacked from his team after criticizing the Islamic Republic’s bloody response to ongoing nationwide protests. The head coach of Fooald FC in the southern city of Ahvaz announced that Ghafouri had no place in the team, Iranian media reported. Iranian authorities arrested Ghafouri, a member of Iran’s Kurdish minority, in …

RFL/RE – An Iranian professional soccer player has been summoned to face a disciplinary committee and banned from participating in the country’s Premier League after he showed solidarity with protesters by not celebrating after scoring a goal. Reza Shekari, who plays with Golgohar FC, said in a post-game interview that he did not celebrate his goal after scoring “due to the conditions …

Iranwire – An Iranian court has sentenced prominent sports journalist Ehsan Pirbornash to 18 years in prison, his wife says, amid an intensifying clampdown on the media in the country. “Despite having a letter from the prison’s doctor stating that he is sick and could not tolerate imprisonment, and despite my husband’s innocence, Ehsan Pirbornash was sentenced today to 18 years in …

Iranwire – In the early years of the 2000s, several Iranian footballers who played for Pas FC claimed they had been forced to sign up with the club after being arrested in police raids on parties and other gatherings. At that time, the club’s chairman, Mostafa Ajorlou, who serves as a commander in the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), …

CHRI – The Islamic Republic’s persecution of athletes for peacefully supporting anti-state protests that have been ongoing throughout the country since September 2022 should be publicly condemned by sports federations and the international community, said the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). Women and male athletes have been shot and killed, sentenced to death by kangaroo courts, disappeared and …

RFL/RE – Iranian authorities have arrested soccer players who attended a mixed party east of Tehran, local media reported on January 1 without identifying them or giving their exact number. “Several current and former players of one of Tehran’s prominent football clubs were arrested last night (December 31) at a mixed party in the city of Damavand,” Tasnim news agency …

Iranwire – A semiofficial Iranian newspaper has asked the authorities to “shut down” the Football Premier League after players voiced support for nationwide anti-government protesters. “Maybe time has come to throw away all the rubbish of football, from the presidents to the managers, players, and coaches with correct decisions,” Javan newspaper, which affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), …

Iranwire – Mr Olympia 2022, the most prestigious bodybuilding contest, wrapped up in Las Vegas on December 18 after Iran’s Hadi Choopan was announced as the new champion. The 35-year-old Choopan took the Mr Olympia title and earned $400,000 for his win, becoming the first Iranian competitor ever to take the top prize at this event. His words after receiving …

Iranwire – Iranian authorities are accusing five detained athletes from the southern city of Shiraz of plotting a bomb attack in the country, amid an ongoing brutal crackdown on nationwide protests. The semiofficial Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Republic Guards Corps (IRGC), on December 14 published a video of the four men and the woman allegedly …

Al – Monitor — Fears intensified on Tuesday over the fate of 26-year-old Iranian soccer player Amir Reza Nasr Azadani, who was arrested last month and is standing trial in Iran over his participation in anti-government protests.   Prosecutors in the central city of Isfahan indicted the athlete on Sunday with a charge punishable by execution. According to Mizan News, the official …