CNN
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The World Cup in Qatar is practically a home tournament for Iran, only the narrow Persian Gulf separates the two nations.
But when they face England in their opening game on November 21, some of the Iranian players might feel quite uncomfortable carrying the tricolor flag and representing their country.
That is assuming those players are chosen for the team and assuming that the team itself even makes it to Qatar; There is significant uncertainty for every sports organization representing the Islamic Republic of Iran over the next few weeks.
Cities across Iran have been plunged into chaos and violence since the death of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini in September.
Amini died after being arrested by vice squads for allegedly wearing her obligatory hijab incorrectly, and her fate sparked a women’s riot that swept the country.
Many women have publicly shed their restrictive head coverings, and their seething anger doesn’t seem to be abating.
It is the most serious challenge to the stability of the theocratic regime, and arguably the most significant since it came to power in 1979.
Some have likened what is happening in Iran to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and while defiant chants of “death to the dictator” rang out on street corners from Tehran to Shiraz, the movement’s goal is clear, to overthrow Iran’s supreme leader , Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and effectively put an end to the Islamic Republic.
In response, the government crackdown has been brutal.
The Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guards Guards (IRGC) have arrested thousands of protesters while silencing their voices by shutting down the internet.
And yet, despite internet blackouts, more and more videos are emerging of protesters being chased, shot, beaten or violently thrown to the ground.
CNN has not been able to verify an exact list of the victims, but dozens of young people are believed to have been killed.
In recent years, some of the country’s top athletes have carved out their own positions against the government.
Following the execution of wrestler Navid Afkari, who was found guilty of killing a security guard during the previous riot in 2018 and hanging him in Shiraz two years later, a group of wrestlers, karatekas, judokas and soccer players banded together to fight the United for Navid to establish campaign.
Afkari’s family and supporters have always argued that he was innocent and that his trial was a sham. Now, many of the country’s top athletes, who are revered in Iran, have unofficially joined forces with protesters who are fighting for their rights on the streets.
Forward Sardar Azmoun, 27, wrote on his social media account during Iran’s preparations for the upcoming World Cup: “Due to national team regulations, we couldn’t say anything until training was over.”
He hinted that his public anti-government stance could cost him a place at the World Cup, but says losing a professional goal would be for a good cause.
“It’s worth sacrificing for a strand of Iranian women’s hair,” Azmoun wrote in an Instagram story, “Shame on you who kill people so easily. Long live the Iranian woman.”
After many voices, many were skeptical that Azmoun would represent Iran on the pitch. Therefore, it came as a surprise when he played for Iran in an international friendly against African champions Senegal, coming on as a substitute and scoring the equaliser. Above all, he didn’t celebrate.
Former wrestler Sardar Pashaei, executive manager of the United for Navid campaign, said he was forced to flee Iran to the United States in 2008.
In an interview with CNN, his voice cracked with emotion as he proudly spoke of his sister, a human rights activist who he says was arrested for joining the protests.
Pashaei believes that sentiment on the national football team is divided between pro-regime players who want to play in Qatar and others who are no longer comfortable playing under the flag of a regime that has so ruthlessly repressed its own people.
“A lot of people don’t consider this team their national team,” Pashaei explained. “They consider it the Islamic Republic team, it represents the government, not the people. And many athletes think the same way.”
He added that players who are sympathetic to the regime try to argue that sports and politics should be kept at arm’s length, but Pashaei dismisses this sentiment, saying, “We know everything is political in Iran.”
On behalf of the United for Navid campaign, Pashaei wrote to FIFA, the world football governing body, asking for Iran to be banned from the World Cup.
In his September 29 letter, Pashaei reminded FIFA of Sahar Khodayari, a young Iranian woman known as “Blue Girl” who died in 2019 after being refused entry to a football stadium to watch her favorite team FC Esteghlal play.
She was arrested and sentenced to prison, but set herself on fire outside of court and later died from her injuries.
Pashaei reminded FIFA that in February it had suspended all Russia national and club teams from their competitions “until further notice” for invading Ukraine and called for similar sanctions to be imposed on Iran.
“Iran brutally kills and tortures protesters and oppresses women by criminalizing watching football or showing a strand of hair. FIFA’s silence is an acknowledgment of these human rights abuses.”
Within 24 hours, another human rights group – Open Stadiums – also called on FIFA to ban Iran, stating: “The Iranian FA is not only an accomplice to the crimes of the regime, it is a direct threat to the security of the country female fans in Iran and all over the world where our national team plays.”
So far, FIFA has remained silent and has not responded to CNN’s request for comment.
Several Iranian soccer players have discreetly expressed their condolences to the protesters, changing their social media avatars to black backgrounds or black outlines of Iran’s geographic borders.
Others were much more open; After the club’s recent game against Tractor SC, Persepolis FC midfielder Soroush Rafiei spoke about the ongoing protests and scrutiny of footballers, saying that he and his teammates do not have the energy or interest to talk or play football.
Addressing the people’s struggle for women’s rights, Rafiei addressed the country’s strict Islamic code, saying: “Your wife wears hijab and we respect that, but who are you to tell me how my wife is.” should dress?”
Based on their comments on social media, former internationals Hamidreza Ali Asgari, Kaveh Rezaei and Hossein Mahini are believed to have been either arrested or detained for questioning; CNN was unable to verify the reports from Iran.
The United for Navid campaign has told CNN that Iran’s record goalscorer in the national team, Ali Daei, has had his passport confiscated, and former national team captain Ali Karimi has blasted the government for his vocal support of the protesters to his millions of Instagram followers irritated that he is being accused of hate speech.
Karimi lives in Dubai but local reports suggest his home in Iran has been confiscated by the government.
Not only footballers oppose the regime, many other athletes have also decided that they can no longer represent their country in good conscience.
Handball player Sajjad Esteki, women’s rugby captain Fereshteh Sarani, fencer Mojtaba Abedini Shourmasti and taekwondo player Mahsa Sadeghi have all left their national teams in protest.
Distinguished former wrestler Rasoul Khadem Azghadi has expressed his support for all athletes who have taken action.
“At a time when people are facing problems and protests, we should be glad that our national champions are standing with them,” Azghadi wrote on social media. “By doing so, they take the burden of tension off people’s shoulders.”
Pashaei believes the athletes who speak out have less to lose than the protesters who are met with bullets and batons in the streets.
As the insurgency enters its third week, the situation on the streets of Iran remains highly volatile.
The World Cup, in which Iran is to compete in Group B, is just a few weeks away.
As well as the opening match against England, Iran will also play Wales and then the United States, bringing back memories of a thrilling 2-1 win over old opponents, ‘The Great Satan’, at the 1998 World Cup in Lyon.
Whether the players agree with their governments or not, the teams on the pitch are likely to hold diametrically opposed ideological views.
US government officials have condemned what they call an “appalling” crackdown on the protesters, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Iran “must end its use of violence against women because it exercises a fundamental freedom.”
A place in the knockout stages could be at stake when the two nations meet in Doha on 29 November, although FIFA may determine that the story is not limited solely to what happens on the pitch.