The Iranian national team has a thin line between expressing their support for protesters at home and increasing the serious repercussions of the regime to do so. They have criticized Bone for not being more vocal about the violent suppression of the dissent of the regime on the world stage, Associated Press report. Some also called Ezatolahi not to mention that Samak was killed by security forces.
The team also faced criticism at the beginning of gathering and bowing to President Ebrahim Raisi before traveling to Qatar for the World Cup. Duration The competition, however, the players seemed to express solidarity with the protesters at home.
Before his first match, the captain of the Ehsan Hajsafi team recognized the oppression of the Iranians at home, saying that “the conditions in our country are not well.”
“We are here, but it does not mean that we should not be your voice or that we should not respect them,” he said.
The teammates also remained silent when the Iranian national anthem played in their first game against England, in what many interpreted as a sample of support for protesters.
They were later threatened by the members of the body of the Revolutionary Guard Iran and told their family “violence and torture” if they participated in some political protest against the government, CNN reported, citing the anonymous source.
The team joined the national anthem in its other two games, against Wales and then in the United States.