Iran's Women's Football Team Refused To Sing The National Anthem To Protest Against The Regime
When the national anthem began, neither the players nor head coach Marziyeh Jafari sang, instead staring straight ahead and remaining largely motionless.
Iran's women's football team refused to sing their national anthem at a tournament in Australia on Monday, March 3, days after the US and Israel launched a war on Iran and killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The national anthem of the Islamic Republic celebrates the theocratic government that Khamenei led for 35 years.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the government has imposed strict restrictions on women.
Women are legally required to wear the hijab in public.
Women athletes are required to compete in hijab internationally, a rule enforced by the state.
Women were also banned from watching men's football in stadiums for decades.
At the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Iran's men's national team also refused to sing the national anthem in solidarity with protests that had erupted after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in the custody of the “morality” police — the government force that enforces the dress code — after being detained for allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly.
On Monday, Iran's women's team was playing their opening match of the Women's Asian Cup against South Korea at Cbus Super Stadium on Australia's Gold Coast.
When the national anthem began, neither the players nor head coach Marziyeh Jafari sang, instead staring straight ahead and remaining largely motionless.
When captain Zahra Ghanbari was asked about the anthem protest at a press conference, an AFC media representative abruptly intervened, cutting off the translation and ordering reporters to focus on the game.
The team lost the match 3-0.
The US and Israel's attack has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, including at least 165 children in a girls' school as well as Khamenei and members of his family.
A 40-day mourning period is in effect in Iran following Khamenei's death, halting the men's national team's World Cup preparations, though the women's squad was permitted to continue competing in Australia.
Iran's football federation president expressed doubt about whether the country would be able to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which Iran has already qualified for.
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Cherry Mohamed
Flavie Chen
Cherry Mohamed
