The ayatollahs’ regime is trying to avoid new protest gestures from its footballers ahead of tonight’s game against the United States
Iran’s first match at the World Cup in Qatar left an unusual picture: the footballers of the Persian team refused to sing the country’s national anthem before the game against England. His gesture was a form of protest against the death of Masha Amini, the 22-year-old girl who was arrested for wearing her veil incorrectly and wearing pants that were too tight, and who died from blows to the head. At least 400 people have been killed and more than 15,000 arrested in the popular protests.
It remained to be seen what happened four days later, in the game against Wales. On this occasion, the players did. Many of them with small mouths and without even moving their lips Sardar Azmoun, striker of Bayer Leverkusen, one of the most active opponents of the crackdown on the protests. As Pío García called the chronicle of that meeting: “Iran loses one match but wins another.” Now the intrahistory of that course change is known. According to CNN reports, those selected by Carlos Queiroz were summoned to meet with members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to warn them of what could happen to their families if they persisted in their attitude. Specifically, they would face situations of “violence and torture” if they failed to sing the national anthem or if they participated in a political protest against Tehran’s regime. In addition, dozens of IRGC officials have been recruited to monitor athletes who cannot meet foreigners.
What will happen tonight in the game against the United States, the great enemy of the regime, “the great Satan”? The pressure on the players is maximum. A protest in this context would be a huge setback for the ayatollahs. To avoid this, they have insisted on threats “if they don’t behave properly”. The US chain’s sources also confirm that Carlos Queiroz, the team’s Portuguese coach, met with IRGC officials after they conveyed the threats to their footballers. The Portuguese, who criticized a BBC journalist for asking him questions of a political nature during a press conference, is said to have told his men they can protest at the World Cup, but only within FIFA rules.
In this battle to polish their image, the ayatollahs are also said to have sent hundreds of actors to create a false sense of support for the team in the game against Wales. This measure will also be applied in tonight’s game against the United States, when they plan to “significantly increase the number of actors present in the stadium”. A game that should not even be played if it were up to them. Yesterday they called for the expulsion of the US team from the World Cup because of the North American Federation’s decision to remove the central symbol of the Iranian flag from its social networks, a kind of schematic tulip that pays tribute to those who died for the Fatherland.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
