A rights organisation has urged Fifa to disqualify Iran from this season’s World Cup as the country forbade women from attending matches there.
The organisation Open Stadiums criticized why Iran was permitted to compete when “Iranian women remain kept out of our ‘Beautiful Game,'” according to officials. The request was made a few weeks after female spectators were permitted to watch a national game for the first time since 1979.
The rights organisation, however, doubted that stadiums would continue to welcome women. “Iranian women trust neither the Islamic Republic’s authorities nor the Iranian Football Federation that the Azadi stadium will remain open to them after the Fifa World Cup 2022 concludes on December 18, “Open Stadiums said in an open letter to Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino. Over the past ten years, Open Stadiums has pushed to allow women to watch football games in Iran, but with insufficient impact.
Additionally, it makes the case that anyone who travels to Qatar to attend matches runs the danger of running afoul of Iranian authorities due to concerns that state spies may be keeping an eye on attendees.
Iranian news outlets speculated that women were admitted to the game in August as a result of Fifa writing to the authorities urging them to let more women enter stadiums. Fifa earlier assured the BBC that it will “focus its attention” on the problem.
The letter notes that banning women from games violates international football regulations and demands that Fifa “immediately remove Iran from the World Cup 2022 this year in Qatar.” Women are not officially prohibited from attending sporting events in Iran, but doing so is uncommon because they are frequently turned away.
Before this, the Shia Muslim authorities virtually prohibited women from attending domestic contests in which men are participating due to clerical disfavour. Reuters says that women have made an appearance at a few international games, including the one in March of this year.
In the letter, the rights organisation, which advocates for equitable access to sport in Iran, also asserted that members of the football squad travelling to Qatar this year were forbidden from speaking out about the fatal protests that are presently roiling the nation. They began when a young woman named Mahsa Amini passed away while being held in custody.
To make it more difficult for people to organise protests, the Iranian authorities have retaliated as it normally does: with brutality and an internet ban. Since the protests began, at least 83 individuals have died.
In a letter to Infantino, the organisation Open Stadiums, which advocates for the rights of Iranian women, stated: “For more than 40 years, Iranian women have indeed been deprived of their most basic freedoms.”
“The Iranian FA is not only an accomplice of the crimes of the regime. It is a direct threat to the security of female fans in Iran and wherever our national team plays in the world. Football should be a safe space for us all,” the letter said.
Open Stadiums in a letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino
“The Iranian FA is not only an accomplice of the crimes of the regime. It is a direct threat to the security of female fans in Iran and wherever our national team plays in the world. Football should be a safe space for us all,” the letter said.
Prior to Beforeek’s friendly match against Senegal, the Iranian team lined up for the playing of the national anthem while donning black jackets. Since Iranian international players have earlier expressed their opposition to the government of the country, it was widely believed to be a sign of sympathy for the demonstrators.
In the letter, it is noted that the detention facility where she was held is also the one “where female football fans are frequently brought to and tormented if we attempt to visit a football game.” Though there has been no response by the Iranian football association or Fifa.
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/iran
