The Iranian women’s national football team sparked a massive controversy during their opening match of the Asian Cup against South Korea on March 2nd. As a demonstration against the current regime, which remained in place following the demise of Ayatollah Khamenei, the players refused to sing the national anthem.
Tehran’s response was swift. Iranian television host Mohammad Reza Shahbazi condemned the team’s actions as the “pinnacle of dishonor” and labeled the athletes “traitors in wartime.”
Under the laws of the Islamic Republic, treason is punishable by death.
“Based on the available information, the team members face peril if they return home,” Paul Power, Executive Director of Refugee Council of Australia, stated to The Guardian. Nevertheless, the host nation’s authorities have so far limited their reaction to routine appeals for Iran to “guarantee freedom of expression.”
The publication reports that pressure mounted on the squad following the incident, and by their following match against Australia on March 5th, the footballers were observed singing the anthem and rendering a military salute.
Human rights advocate Cyrus Jones characterized the team’s living situation during the tournament as akin to imprisonment: “These women are captives! Iranian guards are stationed outside their hotel floor at night. They are forbidden from leaving their rooms. They are monitored during breakfast, and as they board the bus.”
Previously, Nationalnews reported on the execution of former Iranian General Esmail Qaani, who had led the elite “Al-Quds” unit within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on charges of collaborating with Israeli intelligence agency “Mossad.”
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