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Journalism of Courage
The FIFA World Cup in Qatar has been mired in controversies with LGTBQ flags and ‘One Love’ armbands being banned. And now a video has surfaced on Twitter that shows a man, wearing a T-shirt in support of women protesters in Iran, being denied entry inside a stadium.
Many Iranian fans were seen wearing T-shirts and carrying flags with messages of support for the women protesters during their opening match against England. “Women. Life. Freedom,” was the slogan printed on a lot of T-shirts and flags and photos of them went viral on social media. However, many fans were denied entry inside the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium where Iran played Wales on November 25.
A video posted by a journalist shows how two men were denied entry inside the stadium as one of them was wearing a T-shirt with the slogan, “Women. Life. Freedom.” “This is not the Islamic Republic of Iran is it,” the man is heard yelling to a security guard. The men were engaged in a verbal argument with the security men and walked away chanting, “Women! Life! Freedom!”.
Watch the video below:
Posted Tuesday, the clip has received more than 1.01 lakh views already.
“I hope these brave Iranians raise so much hell that both FIFA and Qatar regret their corrupt deal. Let it be a lesson for next cups,” a Twitter user wrote. “Is anyone surprised? It’s been a 12 year process unfolding. They’ll have empty stadiums in a few weeks never to be filled again,” said another. “The World Cup should not be held in an authoritarian state,” posted a third.
The Iran national team players had refused to sing their national anthem during the opening game against England. The players were seen looking down at the ground or gazing emptily into the skies as the anthem ‘Sorude Melliye Jomhuriye Eslamiye Iran’ played out at the Khalifa Stadium.
Their final group match is against the USA at Al Thumama Stadium Tuesday. Currently, Iran are in the second place behind England in Group B with three points.
