Iran’s soccer team chose not to sing the Islamic Republic’s national anthem before their opening World Cup match against England on Monday, in an apparent show of solidarity with a months-long rights movement sweeping across the country.
The defiant act came after the team’s captain Ehsan Hajsafi on Sunday expressed support for those who had lost loved ones during the recent unrest, which began in mid-September after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country’s morality police. More than 300 people have died since then as the government used force to break the protest movement that has now morphed into broader calls to overthrow the Islamic leadership.
“We have to accept the conditions in our country are not right and our people are not happy,” he said in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday, in the first remarks by a member of the team regarding the protests.
“We are here but it does not mean we should not be their voice or we should not respect them,” Mr. Hajsafi said. “They should know that we are with them. And we support them. And we sympathize with them regarding the conditions.”
The usually revered national team has received criticism ahead of the soccer tournament in Qatar for not speaking out in support of the protests and for meeting with a government delegation headed by President Ebrahim Raisi ahead of the tournament.
For decades, celebrating Iranians brought the streets of Tehran to a standstill every time the national soccer team did well in an international tournament, clogging the streets with honking cars and pouring onto balconies to cheer the players on.
Iranian leaders have in the past used soccer celebrations, such as a win in the 1998 World Cup against the US, to champion their own rule and resistance against foreign enemies.
Ahead of this year’s World Cup in Qatar, large numbers of Iranians are turning against the national team as an act of protest, with many refusing to watch the matches or even hoping that the team will lose so their government can’t use any sports success as propaganda.
WSJ’s Shelby Holliday breaks down the history and symbolism behind three key themes that have emerged from the recent protests in Iran. Photo composite: Noah Friedman
The protests at home have put the team playing in Qatar in a tricky situation. Many Iranians expect national athletes competing abroad to express sympathy with the protesters, and no sport is surrounded by more craze than the soccer team. However, overt support for the protest movement also puts the players at risk of retaliation when they return to Tehran.
After Iranian rock climber Elnaz Rekabi competed in South Korea in October without wearing an Islamic veil, which is mandated by law in Iran, she returned home to a hero’s welcome from crowds of cheering fans, but has not made any public remarks since.
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