Moments before their first match in this year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar, members of Iran’s national team stood side-by-side to partake in the age-old tradition of singing the national anthem. But instead of singing along, the players stayed silent with their arms slung over each other’s shoulders — an apparent show of solidarity with the months-long human rights protest that had swept the country. While the match ended in a 6-2 victory for England, the Iran team’s message was received loud and clear. Videos from the stands showed several Iranian fans booing during the national anthem. According to a report by Al Jazeera, chants of ‘Say her name, Mahsa Amini,’ reverberated outside the Khalifa International Stadium ahead of Iran’s match. Why did the Iran team protest at the FIFA World Cup? Widespread protests broke out across the country in September following the custodial death of a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa Amini, who had been detained for wearing her hijab improperly. The protests, widely considered the most significant in the country’s history since the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the establishment of clerical rule, were met with a violent response from Iran’s security forces. According to several human rights groups, thousands of people have been arrested and hundreds killed. In recent weeks, several demonstrators have been put on trial, with six already sentenced to death. The football match came as security forces began firing at protestors in the predominantly Kurdish cities of Piranshahr and Javanrud. Was Iran's FIFA football team allowed to protest? Before the tournament, the team’s manager Carlos Queiroz had said that players would be allowed to protest while they were competing in Qatar. But before the match, Iran’s players made few public comments about what was happening in their country. Days before the match, Iranian captain Ehsan Hajsafi had offered his condolences to the families of the protestors that had died. “I would like them to know that we are by their side and we feel their pain," he said. During a friendly match against Senegal in September, soon after the protests commenced, the Iranian squad had worn simple black jackets over their uniforms during the national anthem, and some refused to sing. What is FIFA’s stance on political protests? While FIFA has largely been opposed to political protests and sloganeering during games, in recent years it has become a little more tolerant. Norway’s national team wore t-shirts that read ‘Human rights — on and off the pitch’ right before their World Cup qualifier against Gibraltar. Germany, too, protested in a similar manner before its qualifier against Iceland. In both cases, the teams were protesting against human rights violations in Qatar ahead of the World Cup. While such acts of protest would have otherwise resulted in disciplinary action and fines from FIFA, the governing body said it would not take action against the teams. Regulations restricting slogans on shirts are laid down in Law 4 of the Laws of the Game. Regulations on broader political gestures, meanwhile, are listed within the Disciplinary and Ethics codes, according to a Reuters report. FIFA also supported players who chose to ‘take the knee’ in support of the Black Lives Matter’ movement following the death of George Floyd in the United States. “FIFA believes in the freedom of speech, and in the power of football as a force for good,” the body had said soon after Norway’s protest. “No disciplinary proceedings in relation to this matter will be opened by FIFA.” However, controversy erupted after FIFA barred several European team’s from wearing rainbow armbands to promote LGBTQ+ rights during the tournament in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal. Iran’s national anthem Iran adopted its present national anthem in 1990 following the death of Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini. Its lyrics exalt the Islamic Republic in Iran, the ultraconservative regime that took over following the Islamic revolution in 1979.
