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Doha (AFP) – The Iranian national team players sang the national anthem before their match with Wales on Friday in the second round of the second group competitions for the Qatar World Cup 2022 in football, following they abstained in the first match once morest England in solidarity with the protests taking place in the Islamic Republic.
Iran has been witnessing protests for nearly two months, following the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini (22 years), three days following she was arrested by the morality police for not adhering to the strict rules of dress in the Islamic Republic.
Those protests have become among the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic’s regime since the 1979 revolution, with some 378 people killed in a crackdown, according to a human rights organization. That pressure coincided with the participation of “Tim Melli” in the World Cup, and he became the focus of attention and demands from the Iranian fans to take a decisive stand on the protests and the authorities that received the team before heading to Doha.
And before the first match, which “Tim Melle” lost 2-6 to England, the captain of the national team, Ali Reza Jahanbakhsh, revealed that the issue of performing the national anthem is being discussed or not, and that the decision will be taken collectively.
It seems that the decision was taken collectively this time by performing the national anthem before the fateful match once morest Wales, following the Portuguese coach of the Iranian national team, Carlos Queiroz, admitted that the main reason for the defeat once morest England was due to the pressure of “the circumstances surrounding the players.”
National team striker Mahdi Tarmi confirmed on Thursday that the “Team Melli” players were not subjected to “any pressure” following refusing to perform the national anthem before their opening match.
“I don’t like talking regarding politics, but we don’t feel any pressure,” said the Porto player, in response to a question regarding whether he and his teammates had been subjected to any pressure from the authorities.
“I knew that similar questions would be asked, but whatever I say, there will be no effect because some will write what they want to write. Therefore, I prefer not to talk regarding this type of political topic except privately or through my accounts on social media,” he added.
“We came to play football, not only us, but all the players in Qatar. I and thousands of people like me do not have the ability to change things,” he stressed.
In contrast, Queiroz stressed that sports should not be “mixed” with politics.
© 2022 AFP
