Iran players covered their shirts with football jackets during their friendly match against Senegal. They wore their black jackets while standing for their national anthem, covering their badges in solidarity against women’s oppression in their home country.
Iran has been engulfed by mass demonstrations in recent days after 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini died in custody while she was being detained by the so-called morality police for breaking the country’s strict Islamic dress code.
The east country players stood with their women and expressed their anger by staying covered up while anthems were played before the start of their friendly international, which was staged at Admira Wacker’s ground in Modling.
Bayer Leverkusen forward Sardar Azmoun took to his Instagram to write:
“The ultimate [punishment] is to be kicked out of the national team, which is a small price to pay for even a single strand of the women’s hair. Shame on you for easily killing the people and viva women of Iran. Long live Iranian women!”
The country’s riot police and security forces clashed with demonstrators in dozens of cities on Tuesday. Women have taken out hijabs from their dressing in solidarity.
Amini, from the northwestern Kurdish city of Saqez, was arrested on Sept 13 in Tehran for what the morality police deemed to be “unsuitable attire.”
She died three days later in hospital after falling into a coma, sparking the first big show of opposition on Iran’s streets against the country’s government.
Despite a rising death toll and a brutal crackdown by security forces using teargas, clubs, and, in some cases, live ammunition, videos posted on social media showed protesters calling for the fall of the clerical establishment while clashing with security forces in Tehran, Tabriz, Karaj, Qom, Yazd, and many other Iranian cities.
Videos on Twitter showed protesters chanting “Death to the dictator”, a reference to the east country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Over 300 Iranian Christians issued a statement supporting the nationwide protests.
