World Cup 2022: Iranians sing the national anthem before the Wales match

Enlarge image

This time the Iranian players did not remain silent during their national anthem

Photo:

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Before Iran's second World Cup game against Wales, the Iranian players sang the national anthem again.

The fans in the stands initially whistled, but this was quickly mixed with cheers.

However, tearful fans could also be seen in the stands.

At the start against England (2: 6), the team sent a sign of solidarity to the regime critics at home and remained silent during their own anthem.

In the past few days, there have been reports of the threat of drastic sanctions and increased pressure on professionals from the government.

Confrontations over protest shirts

Before the start of the game, there were apparently conflicts between fans loyal to the regime and Iranian protesters, the AP news agency reported.

According to the report, some fans confiscated Persian flags from before the Islamic revolution in the 1970s and insulted those supporters who wore shirts with the slogan of the country's protest movement, "Woman, Life, Freedom."

Small groups of men also chanted "Islamic Republic of Iran" against women who gave interviews to foreign media about the protests.

For weeks, Iran has been rocked by the worst protests in decades.

After the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amiri, mass protests broke out in Iran, and almost 400 people have died since the police cracked down.

During the anthem at the opening game, the local state television only showed a long shot, while the sound was turned off during the unmistakable shouts of “freedom, freedom” in the stands.

Now the team decided not to protest again.

The players are aware of possible consequences in their home country.

At the same time, many supporters of the protest movement had sharply criticized Iran's Team Melli in recent weeks.

In particular, a photo with President Ebrahim Raisi in a relaxed mood caused outrage shortly before departure.

The critics complained that the action on the field was too late and too small.

"We're not under pressure," attacker Mehdi Taremi reported before the second game: "I don't want to talk about politics.

We came here to play football.

I can not change anything."

mrk/dpa/sid/AP