Pecohub The Iranian women’s national football team faced accusations of being “traitors in wartime” from a presenter on the country’s state broadcaster for not singing the national anthem before a match.
The U.S. sports media outlet The Athletic reported on the 7th (Korean time), “Mohammad Reza Shabazi, a presenter for Iran’s state TV, strongly criticized the players’ decision not to sing the national anthem prior to the match, stating, ‘Traitors should be treated more severely in wartime’ and calling their actions ‘a disgrace and a lack of patriotism.’”
Shabazi insisted, “The public and authorities should not treat them as mere protesters. They should be regarded as wartime traitors. The stigma of disgrace and betrayal must be engraved on their foreheads, and they must be dealt with separately.”
The controversy arose during the Women’s Asian Cup being held in Australia. The tournament is taking place amid military attacks by the U.S. and Israel against Iran, following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with retaliatory strikes continuing between the two sides.
The Iranian women’s football team remained silent during the national anthem before their first group-stage match against South Korea on the 2nd. This was perceived as a form of “resistance” against the Iranian government. However, three days later, during the match against Australia, the players saluted and sang the anthem. This led to speculation that they might have been pressured into singing
The Asian-Oceania branch of FIFPRO, the global players’ union, issued a statement saying it had sent urgent letters to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA, the sport’s global governing body, requesting immediate action to ensure the players’ safety.
FIFPRO stated, “The players may face dangerous situations upon returning to Iran after the tournament. We are deeply concerned, especially given the public condemnation by Iran’s state broadcaster of the players who did not sing the anthem in the opening match.”
Iran suffered a 0-3 defeat to South Korea, followed by a 0-4 loss to Australia, making their chances of advancing to the quarterfinals extremely slim.
