Sport

Iranwire – Supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s ideological influence has affected Iranian athletes in all respects: from mandatory hijab for female athletes and forbidding men and women to shake hands to the prohibition on playing with Israeli athletes and now using the football team for the benefit of the Islamic Republic.  The government’s efforts to create competition between fans of the clubs of …

Iranwire – Iranian police have arrested sports journalist Mehdi Amirpour and moved him to the notorious Evin prison, the reporter’s wife said on Saturday.  Security forces raided Amirpour’s house at 2 am on Sunday, confiscated his electronic devices and arrested him after he posted about Iranian athletes’ support for the ongoing protests on his social media accounts.  With the 2022 World Cup in …

VOA – Prominent Iranian dissident Hossein Ronaghi and former national soccer team player Voria Ghafouri have been released on bail, according to Iran state media Saturday. The two are among the dozens of prominent rights activists, journalists and lawyers who have been arrested amid Iran’s crackdown on protests that were ignited by the death of Mahsa Amini. Amini, a 22-year-old …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s political turmoil cast a shadow also over Iran’s second match at the World Cup on Friday, with pro-government fans harassing anti-government fans outside the stadium in Qatar. Unlike in their first match against England, the Iran players sang along to their national anthem before the match against Wales as some fans in the stadium wept. Some Iran …

RFL/RE – Iran’s political turmoil cast a shadow over Iran’s second match in the World Cup on November 25, with pro-government fans harassing anti-government fans outside the stadium in Qatar. Unlike in their first match against England, the Iran players sang along to their national anthem before the match against Wales as some fans in the stadium wept. Some Iran …

Iranwire – Iran’s national football team sang along to their national anthem at their second World Cup match in Qatar, after remaining silent in their opening game earlier this week in an apparent sign of support of anti-government protesters back home. Loud jeers were heard from Iranian supporters as the anthem played before the match kick-off against Wales on November …

VOA – Iran arrested a prominent former member of its national soccer team on Thursday over his criticism of the government as authorities grapple with nationwide protests that have cast a shadow over its competition at the World Cup. The semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported that Voria Ghafouri was arrested for “insulting the national soccer team and propagandizing …

VOA – On day two of the World Cup in Qatar, Iran’s turmoil from a two-month long protest movement against Islamist rule was apparent among Iranian fans in the stadium as their men’s football team slumped to a 6-2 loss to England. A VOA Persian reporter who was at Monday’s first match of the tournament for Iran and England at …

Iranwire – Iran’s national team, or “Team Melli”, has qualified for the World Cup for the sixth time. Going to the tournament has always been celebrated and for 30 years has been a source of pride for the Iranian people. Even people with no interest in football would follow Iran’s progress at the World Cup and cheer on the side. But this time, …

Iranwire – Members of Iran’s national football team are free to join the protests during their participation in the World Cup in Qatar, as long as they do so within the rules of the tournament, team coach Carlos Queiroz has said. “The players are free to protest as they would if they were from any other country as long as …