Iran keeper is ‘BANNED and fined £3,800’ after being pushed away for hugging a female fan whose hijab had fallen, because it was ‘unprofessional’ – and broke Islamic laws about contact with opposite sex
An Iranian goalkeeper has been fined and banned for one match after hugging a female fan who was chased by security for allegedly not wearing the mandatory hijab.
Hossein Hosseini, goalkeeper of Esteghlal – one of Iran’s top teams – has been reprimanded by the Iranian Football Federation after hugging a fan who had come to the side of the pitch.
Hijabs, or headscarves, have been mandatory for women in Iran since the 1979 revolution, enforcing what is considered a matter of choice by many Muslim women around the world.
Footage shows the moment the fan with visible hair walked onto the pitch after her hijab fell, where she was confronted by security.
Hosseini then walks over and appears to gesture for security to step away because there is no danger, and hugs the fan.
Hossein Hosseini (center) was reportedly given a one-match ban for hugging a female fan
Footage showed the goalkeeper hugging a female fan whose hijab had fallen off her head
Hosseini’s actions caused a scuffle to break out on the pitch, with extra security rushing to the scene
But more security guards rushed to the scene and pulled Hosseini away from the supporter and escorted him off the pitch as a minor scuffle broke out.
Fans in the stands appeared to throw objects at security as they led Hosseini away and appeared to applaud the fan and Hosseini as he was escorted off the field.
According to reports, spectators continued to make apparently angry gestures and reportedly chanted “shame on you” at the security guards as they remained on the field.
After Hosseini was led off the pitch, several of his Esteghlal teammates approached the scene, one of whom gave the fan his shirt.
The fan then ran to a corner of the ground that seemed to consist mainly of female supporters, twirling the shirt above her head in celebration as the rest of the stadium cheered her back to her seat as she put her hijab back on.
According to Iranian publication Khabar Varzeshi, Hosseini – who has made 11 appearances for the national team – was fined around £3,800 and given a one-match suspension for his actions, which were reportedly deemed ‘unprofessional and outside the legal duties of a player fell. player’.
The Esteghlal captain then reportedly made a public comment after being called to the federation’s disciplinary committee to explain himself, reportedly saying: ‘I will pay the fine, for that lady’s sake’.
Yet reports suggest these comments did not go down well, with IRNA – Iran’s official news agency – reporting that Hosseini could face further punishment as a result of his public comments.
One of Hosseini’s teammates gave the fan his shirt before running to the stands in a section seemingly made up only of female supporters.
Sahar Khodayari, 30, died in September 2019, a week after setting herself on fire to protest the ban on women from football matches in Iran
Khodayari was arrested in March 2019 while trying to sneak into a football match dressed as a man, before setting herself on fire outside the courtroom when she learned she could be jailed for six months.
Activists had called on Iran to completely lift a ban on women attending matches that had been in place since the 1979 Islamic revolution (file image)
The report further claims that the decision to punish Hosseini would be contrary to ‘existing regulations’ as there is no specific law prohibiting his actions, apart from violating Islamic rules on physical contact between men and women of the opposite sex.
Iran’s football federation has regularly come under pressure from FIFA to allow female fans into stadiums, with a landmark 2019 decision allowing their participation despite reported resistance to these changes.
Before the decision, a female fan set herself on fire after learning she could be sentenced to six months in prison for trying to gain entry to a stadium disguised as a male supporter for a match between Esteghlal and UAE’s Al Ain.
After being released from Gharchak prison after a two-day stay, Sahar Khodayari set herself on fire, suffering burns to 90 percent of her body, before being taken to a hospital in Tehran, where she died in September 2019.
Khodayari is known to many as ‘The Blue Girl’, referring to her desire to show her support for the same team Hosseini plays for, Esteghlal, which plays in blue.
Thirteen days after her death, FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced that Iran would allow female fans into the ground to attend a 2022 World Cup qualifying match against Cambodia.
Ahead of the 2022 World Cup itself, Mahsa Amini died in police custody after being forcibly arrested and allegedly beaten by Iran’s notorious vice squad for not wearing a hijab.
In Iran’s heavy opening defeat to England, the Iranian starting XI remained silent as the country’s national anthem was played.
The players’ silence was a sign of protest over the alleged murder of 22-year-old Amini.
Islamic Republic officials told local media that Amini suffered a heart attack while being held by vice squad, and denied reports that she had been beaten.
“They killed my angel,” her mother told the newspaper BBC Persian employ. She said her daughter was healthy and without any problems.
A statement from Tehran police confirmed that she had been detained along with other women for “explanation and instruction” on the dress code.
Mahsa Amini dies after being arrested by the vice squad because of her appearance. She was visiting the Iranian capital with her family
The images show her sitting among other arrested girls. She faints after a moral police officer points to her headscarf
‘She suddenly developed a heart problem while she was in the company of other supervised people [and]… was immediately taken to hospital with the cooperation of police and emergency services.’
Earlier in 2022, a young Iranian woman, Sepideh Rashno, disappeared in mid-July after becoming involved in a dispute on a bus in Tehran with another woman who accused her of removing her headscarf.
She was detained by the Revolutionary Guards and appeared on TV in what activists said was a coerced confession.
She was released on bail at the end of August, after about a month and a half behind bars.