FIFA told by Iran women will be allowed
By Rob Harris
FIFA is still waiting for Iran to allow women into soccer matches, and still resisting sanctioning the country.
Just like predecessor Sepp Blatter five years ago, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has returned from a trip to Tehran with a reassurance from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that women won’t be shut out of stadiums for much longer.
But no timeframe was provided by Rouhani to change the law, and Infantino gave validation of the policy by attending the derby between Tehran men’s teams on Thursday with only men allowed into Azadi Stadium.
Women did try to get in to watch Esteqlal play Persepolis but at least 35 were blocked. Infantino said they were “detained” while the interior ministry told Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency that they “were instructed to a proper place by police.”
Amid mounting criticism of the trip, Infantino sought to re-establish his commitment to gender equality on Friday by addressing the concerns at a “conference for equality and inclusion” at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.
“I asked (Rouhani), please to consider giving access to women in the stadiums,” Infantino said. “I don’t know how many people go to Iran and speak to the president of the country and ask him this.”
But Infantino said he was more interested in engaging in a “dialogue” rather than ultimatums.
“I hope, I am confident, I was promised that women in Iran will have access to football stadiums soon,” Infantino said. “We will see but I hope this experience which I made only yesterday afternoon can maybe help many, many women around the world.”
If FIFA applied statutes fully, Iran could be suspended from world soccer rather than preparing to play at the World Cup as one of 32 finalists in Russia in June. Article Four prohibits “discrimination of any kind against a ... gender.” A breach should be “punishable by suspension or expulsion” for a country’s soccer federation, the rule states.