(CNN) — The Iranian semi-official “Tasnim” agency said, on Monday, that a plane heading to Dubai with the wife and daughter of “Iranian soccer legend” Ali Daei “had to return to Iran.”
The news agency added that the player’s wife and daughter were prevented from leaving Iran “for not informing the relevant authorities of the decision to leave, despite receiving orders to do so.”
Tasnim indicated that the wife was prevented from leaving the country by court order “for her participation in riots and incitement to strike between November 24 and 26, as well as December 14 and 16.”
She added that the daughter is legally allowed to leave, and pointed out that the final destination of the wife and daughter was America.
The Iranian News Agency (IRNA) stated that the plane had received an order to land at Kish Airport in Iran, where the family was ordered to leave the airport, but it clarified that the player’s wife and daughter were not under arrest despite boarding the plane “illegally.”
Ali Daei was a vocal supporter of the protests in Iran, which erupted when a young woman, Mahsa Amini, died in September following being detained by Iran’s “morality” police.
Recently, Daei refused an invitation to attend the World Cup in Qatar as an expression of his solidarity with the Iranian protesters.
“Instead of repression, violence and arrest of the Iranian people, they solved their problems,” Daei wrote on Instagram in September.
CNN has reached out to Ali Daei for comment.
