Iran World Cup heroes receive subdued welcome home
Iran’s national football team received a subdued welcome home after their World Cup defeat against the United States, a match played against the backdrop of ongoing anti-government protests in Iran. One Iranian man was shot dead celebrating the American victory.
The players returned from Qatar late on Wednesday, a day after their 1-0 loss.
Anti-government protesters, considering the team a symbol of the regime, had celebrated the loss in some Iranian cities with fireworks and cheers.
One man was shot dead by Iranian security forces in northwest Iran for honking his car horn in support of the US victory, the Oslo-based rights monitor Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported yesterday.
Iran’s treatment of the players will likely be scrutinised because they refrained from singing the country’s national anthem during their opening World Cup match. Many considered the move a show of solidarity with the protests. The team did sing the anthem in subsequent matches.
The national team were received by a few dozen fans at Teheran’s international airport late on Wednesday, with people cheering and waving the Iranian flag.
Despite the ostensible show of solidarity, the players also face criticism from anti-government protesters who have chided the team for not being more vocal about the regime’s brutal crackdown on demonstrations.
An image of players bowing in the presence of President Ebrahim Raisi before setting off to the tournament was widely criticised by activists on social media.
Mehran Samak, 27, was shot dead after honking his car in support of the US win after Tuesday’s match in the city of Bandar Anzali, in north west Iran. IHR reported, he was “shot in the head by state forces when he went out to celebrate the loss”.
Samak happened to be a childhood friend of Iranian midfielder Saeed Ezatollahi, who mourned his death on his social media. But again he received criticism from activists for not explicitly stating Samak had been killed by regime forces.
Iranian officials acknowledged but downplayed Iranians celebrating the US win. General Hossein Salami, chief of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said those who had celebrated were doing so on “behalf of the enemies” adding “it is not important to us”.
His comments appeared in the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Abbas Salehi, former minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance and editor-in-chief of Ettelaat newspaper, appointed by the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a tweet said: “Iran’s defeat in the game against America was bitter, but even more bitter was the happiness of some people.”
Salehi added we “have four years to compensate for the first, but we don’t have much time for the second”.
Striker Sardar Azmoun told reporters he was not satisfied with his performance in the last match. It was the sixth time Iran have participated in the World Cup. — AP