Iran threatens its World Cup team with jailtime and torture ahead of its final match against the US

Families of Iranian footballers at the World Cup in Qatar have been threatened with torture and imprisonment by their own country’s government if they break rules ahead of a thrilling final group stage match against the US on Tuesday.

A source told CNN that a meeting between the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG) and all 26 footballers was arranged after the starting XI that faced England on November 21 refused to sing the Iranian national anthem before the match.

Players were told their families would be subjected to “violence and torture” if they remained silent during pre-match rituals and if they joined groups protesting against the regime of the Islamic Republic.

Families of Iranian footballers at the World Cup in Qatar have been threatened with torture and jail by their country’s government ahead of their Group B final against the US on Tuesday

Players of Iran stand during their national anthem ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Group B football match between England and Iran at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha

Last Friday, the Iranian players sang their country’s national anthem ahead of a 2-0 win against Wales.

After the match, a dozen IRGC officers had been tasked with overseeing Iran’s entire World Cup team and coaching staff, who are not allowed to interact with foreigners and people outside their base.

“There are a large number of Iranian security agents in Qatar collecting information and monitoring the players,” the CNN source said.

Iran manager Carlos Quieroz, who is Portuguese, held a separate meeting with IRGC representatives after they threatened his squad’s players and their families, the sources added.

Queiroz has previously said Iranian players have the right to protest at the World Cup if they still respect FIFA standards.

Iranian coach Carlos Queiroz supported his players’ right to protest at a major international tournament

Iranian players must win or draw against the US to advance to the knockout stages

They were promised ‘presents and cars’ ahead of a 6-2 defeat to England, the source told CNN, but the government changed tactics after being embarrassed to see none of the players proudly singing the country’s national anthem .

“In the last game against Wales, the regime sent hundreds of these actor supporters to create a false sense of support and favor among the fans. For the next game against the US, the regime plans to significantly increase the number of actors to thousands,” the source said.

The team’s silence in the first round of Group B matches came after months of demonstrations against the Iranian government following the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by the country’s vice squad.

At least 450 people have been killed and more than 18,000 arrested since the protests began, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, an advocacy group that monitors the demonstrations.

Iran has not released numbers on casualties or arrests in months, claiming without providing evidence that the protests have been fomented by its enemies abroad, including the US.

Tehran also restricts access to the media and has detained more than 63 reporters and photographers since the demonstrations began, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, making it much more difficult to cover the unrest.

Iranian players have refused to sing their country’s national anthem in protest against women’s rights in the Islamic Republic

Members of Iran’s riot police wave national flags as fans take to the streets to celebrate their football team’s victory against Wales

A draw or defeat on Tuesday night would knock out the Americans, who drew Wales 1-1 and England 0-0. England lead Group B by four points, followed by Iran by three, the US by two and Wales by one.

In unusual pre-game press conferences on Monday, USMNT Captain Tyler Adams was asked to defend the US’s treatment of black people and chastised for pronouncing the opponent “Eye-ran” instead of “E-ran.”

U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter was questioned about U.S. immigration and naval policies and apologized on social media for the U.S. Soccer Federation’s decision to remove the Islamic Republic emblem from Iran’s flag.

The USSF’s flag decision was designed to support women protesters in Iran.

The US World Cup Twitter account upset many Iranians after referring to the country without the Islamic Republic emblem on its flag on social media

“We had no idea what US Soccer was putting out,” Berhalter said. “All we can do on our behalf is apologize on behalf of the players and staff.”

Iranian coach Carlos Queiroz was questioned over Sunday’s flag waving, prompting Iran’s football governing body to issue demands for FIFA to expel the US from the tournament. He said he had no intention of using the controversy as motivation.

“After 42 years in this game as a coach, if I still believe that I can win games with those mental games, then I think I have learned nothing about the game,” he said.

“We stand in solidarity with humanitarian causes around the world, whatever they are or who they are,” he added. “When you talk about human rights, racism, children dying in school shootings, we stand in solidarity with all those causes, but here our mission is to make people smile for at least 90 minutes.”