The disciplinary committee of world soccer’s governing body, FIFA, has sent a letter to the Iranian Football Federation demanding an explanation about why women were prevented from entering the stadium to watch a match earlier this year between the Iranian and Lebanese national teams in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad.
Iranian authorities had made around 2,000 tickets available to women to attend the World Cup qualifying match against Lebanon on March 29.
But when the ticketed female supporters arrived at the Imam Reza stadium in Mashhad, police blocked their entrance and pepper sprayed them when they started to protest.
FIFA said at the time it was aware of the situation, and on September 6 sent a letter to Iranian soccer officials giving them six days to supply further information ahead of a disciplinary committee scheduled for September 22.
Women have been barred from attending soccer matches in Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Iran’s clerical establishment has long opposed the practice of allowing women into stadiums along with male fans. But under pressure from FIFA, Iranian authorities have allowed some women to attend matches in recent years.
In September 2019, FIFA ordered Iran to allow women access to stadiums without restriction and in numbers to be determined according to demand for tickets.
The FIFA directive, which threatened to ban Iran from international competitions, came after the death of Sahar Khodayari, a soccer fan who died after setting herself on fire over fears that she would be jailed for trying to attend a soccer match while wearing a disguise.
On August 25, for the first time since 1979, a limited number of women were allowed to watch a club match at Azadi Stadium.
Women attending soccer matches are seated in specially designated areas away from male spectators.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda
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