Iran’s national football team refrained from performing the national anthem ahead of their World Cup match with England on Monday, in a move believed to express solidarity with anti-government protesters.
The players were silent and appeared serious when the anthem was played before the match, which was held at Khalifa International Stadium.
Thousands of Iranian fans cheered in the stands as the music blared. Some held banners reading “Woman…Life…Freedom”.
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said his players were “free to protest”.
The demonstrations, which have been going on for more than two months, sparked by the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, while she was in the custody of the morality police, are considered one of the most serious challenges to the Iranian regime since the Islamic revolution in 1979.
And the official Iranian TV cut off its live broadcast of the match, when the players lined up before the match in conjunction with the playing of the national anthem.
But some believe the Iranian national team has lost the support of the public inside Iran, with many accusing them of siding with the state’s violent crackdown on protesters, including women and children, who seek the downfall of the Islamic Republic.
The team were, as usual, a great source of national pride, but they found themselves caught up in politics in the run-up to the World Cup, waiting to see if their players would use the tournament as a platform to support protests.
On the eve of the match, captain Ehsan Haj-Safi, who plays for Greece, became the first Iranian national team player to speak publicly from the World Cup about the situation on his home soil, cautiously saying, “We are with them. We support them. We sympathize with them.”
Iran were defeated 6-2 by England in their Group B opener on Monday. But the defeat was not enough to silence the Iranian fans, who beat drums throughout the game and cheered in ecstasy when star striker Mehdi Taremi scored twice.
Voices also rose when Sardar Azmoun, who plays for the German club Bayer Leverkusen, came as an alternative due to his condemnation of the suppression of protests in his country.
Iranian fans could be heard chanting “Ali Karimi” at halftime, a reference to the former soccer player who is one of the Islamic Republic’s most outspoken critics and one of the most popular faces of the protest movement.
Iranian Dilara Jahani, 37, who lives in Iran, said that the players escalated by not singing the national anthem, according to Archyde.com.
“Their behavior was good for all Iranians who oppose this regime,” she added, during the half-time break when Iran was 3-0 down. “What they did was very important, because of their great status. They had to show that they are with the people. They showed us that they support.” People. Now people will feel differently about them.”
Speaking about the incident at half-time, BBC Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker said: “It was a very powerful and important gesture. Football is trying to use its strength for good.”
Rights activists say more than 400 protesters have been killed and 16,800 arrested in a crackdown by Iranian security forces.
Iran’s leaders say the protests are “riots” orchestrated by the country’s enemies abroad.