Players of Iran’s national soccer team chose not to sing their country’s anthem at their opening World Cup match against England on Monday, in an apparent show of support for anti-regime protesters back home.
The players were silent as the anthem was played at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, where Iranian fans gathered in the stands shouted as the music was played. Some were seen making thumbs-down gestures.
More than two months of protests in Iran, sparked by the death of a young woman in the custody of the Islamist morality police, are one of the boldest challenges to Iran’s clerical leaders since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iranian state television, during its live broadcast, censored the footage of the players lining up before the match as the anthem was played.
Earlier at a press conference, team captain Ehsan Hajsafi became the latest public figure to express support for the protestors back home, acknowledging widespread dissatisfaction in Iran under the Khomeini Islamist regime.
“We have to accept that the situation in our country is not good and that our people are not happy, they are discontent,“ Hajsafi told reporters. ”We are here, but it does not mean we should not be their voice or that we should not respect them. Whatever we have is theirs.
“We have to perform the best we can and score goals and dedicate those goals to the people of Iran who are feeling hurt,” he added.
