Iran arrests footballer for criticising the government and ‘spreading propaganda’ 

Iranian security forces today arrested a former national footballer for criticizing the government for its crackdown on protests that have swept the Islamic Republic for months.

Voria Ghafouri, who was dropped from the Iran national team ahead of the World Cup for his criticism of the regime, was arrested after a training session with his local club Foolad Khuzestan in Iran.

The 35-year-old was arrested on charges of “tarnishing the national team’s reputation and spreading propaganda against the state,” Fars news agency reported.

Ghafouri was also accused of supporting “rioters,” a term Islamic states use to refer to the anti-government protesters who demonstrated following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police on September 16.

The 22-year-old died three days after her arrest in Tehran for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code for women.

Ghafouri has been an outspoken critic of the Islamist regime and its violent crackdown on the protests, which have left at least 400 people dead.

In 2019, Ghafouri was summoned by Iranian authorities after he criticized Iran’s harsh foreign policy. He said the country’s policies regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria hurt Iranians.

His arrest comes as Iranian footballers participating in the World Cup were warned by officials in Tehran that they face retaliation for their “offensive” decision not to sing their national anthem ahead of Qatar’s World Cup match against England.

The team could face reprisals if they refuse to sing Iran’s national anthem in their remaining World Cup matches, an Iranian politician warned. All eyes will be on the team in their game against Wales on Friday.

Tehran City Council Chairman Medhi Chamran warned that the country will ‘never allow anyone to insult our national anthem’, reports The protector.

Iran’s national side looked icy on Monday as the national anthem was played at the Khalifa International Stadium ahead of their 6-2 World Cup defeat to England.

It was seen as an expression of solidarity with the protests currently engulfing Iran following Amini’s death.

Iran’s national team can now be penalized for their defiance after Chamran said on Tuesday: “We will never allow anyone to insult our national anthem and our flag.

“Iranian civilization has a history of several thousand years, this civilization is as old as the total of European and American civilizations.”

A conservative member of parliament in Kurdistan also called for Iran’s national football team to be replaced by loyal youths willing to sing the national anthem, the Guardian reports.

Meanwhile, a senior British politician said the risk to the lives of the Iranian players is now “serious and serious” after they refused to sing the national anthem.

Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, chair of the UK’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said Britain should support Iran’s international footballers if they seek asylum following their “very bold and courageous political statement”.

Iran’s heavily censored media made little mention of the Iranian team’s failure to sing the national anthem, but the ultra-conservative newspaper Kayhan criticized “certain players” for remaining silent.

During the football match, Iranian fans in the stands chanted Amini’s name, held signs and wore T-shirts with protest slogans and booed during the national anthem.

Another daily newspaper, Vatanemrooz, reported that protesters in Iran celebrated their country’s humiliating defeat in the streets, cheered in coffee shops as England scored goals and honked their glee after the match.

Images from central Tehran circulated online showing motorcyclists honking and shouting ‘Six!’ scanned. in reference to England’s six goals against Iran.

Authorities closed a coffee shop in the northeastern city of Mashhad as they announced it would be rooting for England.

“None of the players were mentally ready,” wrote the reformist newspaper Shargh in Iran.

The nationwide protest movement first focused on Iran’s state-mandated hijab, or headscarf, for women, but quickly turned into calls for the downfall of Iran’s ruling Shia clerics.

Iran’s national team is under enormous pressure from protesters to show support ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

The players faced a barrage of public criticism last week after meeting President Ebrahim Raisi at a farewell ceremony, where they remained silent on the issue of protests. A few players were photographed bowing to Raisi.

Even as the Iranian national team performs on the world stage in Qatar, Iranian security forces continue to mistreat demonstrators.

Since the protests began in late September, more than 400 civilians have reportedly been killed, with many more injured and arrested.

Iran has been ravaged by more than two months of anti-regime demonstrations sparked by the death of Amini in police custody after she was arrested for not wearing a mandatory hijab.

Since then, almost daily marches have taken place to call for an end to the country’s strict interpretation of Islamic law and the overthrow of the mullahs’ regime.

News from the country is limited amid widespread internet outages, but hundreds if not thousands of protesters are believed to have been killed by security forces in an increasingly violent crackdown.

Rights groups accuse security forces of firing live ammunition and birdshots at protesters and beating them with clubs, violence captured in numerous videos circulated online.