Iran's National Soccer Team Refuses to Sing Anthem at World Cup in Support of Women
Iran's national soccer team is showing support for the women and students currently risking their lives to protest against the country's government.
Yesterday, while lined up on the field ahead of their World Cup 2022 match against England, the Iranian players refused to sing along to their own national anthem, instead staring sternly ahead in protest.
Some male Iranian fans at Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar shouted and made thumbs-down gestures at the players as the music rang out, per Reuters, while videos shared on social media show women crying with joy and clapping upon seeing the players' brave gesture.
Some supporters even carried banners that read "Women, Life, Freedom"—the motto of the movement—adding a layer of defiance to a World Cup which has, from the start, been plagued by controversy due to Qatar's string of human rights violations.
Team Melli, as the Iranian soccer team is known, had recently come under scrutiny, with citizens urging them to either drop out of the World Cup or use their platform to address the unrest at home.
Protests broke out across Iran this September following the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the country's morality police for not wearing a hijab in public, and later mysteriously died in a local hospital.
Since then, women across the nation have shown their stance against the Islamic Republic, with its sexist dress code and harsh laws discriminating women, by protesting on the streets, confronting police, burning their hijabs, and chopping off their hair.
Last week, the first Iranian protester was formally sentenced to death for "spreading corruption on Earth," per state news agency IRNA., and according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 410 protesters have been killed in the unrest so far, including 58 minors. About 54 members of the security forces have also been killed, HRANA said, and at least 17,251 people have been arrested. Per Norway-based Iran Human Rights, at least 20 protesters are currently facing charges punishable by death in Iran.
The Iranian government has not provided an official death count, and instead, in an attempt to silence the protests, has shut off the Internet connection and blocked social media access across the country.
"All of us are sad because our people are being killed in Iran but all of us are proud of our team because they did not sing the national anthem—because it's not our national (anthem), it's only for the regime," an Iranian fan attending the World Cup told Reuters.
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