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It really shouldn’t have happened to a former Real Madrid manager and one-time assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson, but Carlos Queiroz put down the skittles for training in Iran in an obscure suburb of Vienna last Thursday afternoon after playing a part in the departing from a diplomatic incident.
The session, for a team that beat Uruguay 1-0 in a World Cup warm-up the following night, seemed to please a 69-year-old who has been rehired to stop the rot in Iran’s national team – even though he will get just £50,000 for a four-month contract expiring after the World Cup. His six coaches together have less than £30,000.
The diplomatic role is more difficult, as Iran finds itself in the midst of a massive and escalating public protest following the death in custody of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the state’s vice squad for allegedly inappropriately wearing a hijab and headscarf. Football worries the Iranian state because the country’s footballers have a habit of expressing their opinions.
After Amini’s death, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, captain of the Queiroz national team, posted an image of a young woman with her arms raised to a flock of pigeons. Ehsan Hajsafi, who was also in the starting line-up against Uruguay, published something similar. Both seem to have been forced to delete the messages, which mysteriously disappeared.
Against this backdrop, The Mail on Sunday arrived here last Wednesday and found that we were with several Western media organizations whose accreditation for the game had been revoked — by order of the Iranian state, according to various sources. The game was to be played behind closed doors at the insistence of the Iranians, who were technically the hosts.
Our subsequent approach to Iranian FC Vice President Mahdi Mohammadnabi, at the team hotel, revealed how terrified officials are about taking any step the state apparatus might frown upon. Mohammadnabi, a shaky figure in a shabby coat and cheap training gear, said nothing to us or Persian-speaking colleagues, except that he refused us entry to Queiroz.
Iranians Protest After Mahsa Amini Was Arrested By State Morality Police
Iran boss Carlos Queiroz was spotted setting the marks for his team’s training session
The manager then emerged from a hotel dining room to say he would speak to the few reporters present next to the training ground. This turned out to be a test of whether there were enemies in central Iran. Within 18 hours, our accreditation was mysteriously restored. Threats to hand in cell phones never materialized.
Queiroz appears to have the power to act as a de facto independent foreign envoy to Iran and maintain any semblance of credibility for his hapless FA. He’s not afraid to speak up, because he doesn’t live in fear of the state like the FA officials do. He has no family in Iran to worry about. The Iranian state also desperately needs him, although Queiroz has so far not commented anywhere on the treatment of women like Amini.
Iran seems to have thought that the protest would never follow them to St Polten, a sleepy town 80 kilometers west of Vienna where this surreal contest took place.
But dissent took over. About 150 supporters from each side gained entry, ostensibly as VIPs, including two men holding up an image of Amini during the second half. They were immediately apprehended by Austrian police officers and marched out of the stadium through a VIP lounge.
The Mail on Sunday press passes have been restored, so they are with Queiroz . can talk
Austrian police spokesman Raimund Schwaigerlehner told The Mail on Sunday yesterday that the protesters had left the stadium ‘voluntarily’. Once removed, they insisted they had every right to protest peacefully. It was an extraordinary scene to see in a democratic European country. The Austrians, tangled up with the Iranian state, also made the bizarre claim that any protest up to 48 hours before it takes place “must be registered with the appropriate authority.” These were just two men with an A4 poster.
A measure of sanity has been preserved on the playing field after the team’s implosion under Croatian manager Dragan Skocic, Queiroz’s predecessor – who was viewed with disdain by some players. There were stories of workouts that were little more than a ‘crossbar challenge’. One source said the Iranians wanted to get the tried and tested Queiroz back mainly because of the politically charged nature of Group B. “The thought of losing to both the US and England is unthinkable for the Iranian state,” the source said.
Queiroz certainly didn’t do his job as he was reinstalled just two months before the tournament. He hinted on Thursday that the team will still be playing friendlies the week before they face England. There was talk of a friendly against Russia in Doha that week, although Tehran appears to be a more likely venue.
Queiroz urges Iran to enter the World Cup and not be ‘no-hopers’
The manager dismissed Iran’s tag as their group’s no-hopers. “I don’t care what others think. I care about us,” Queiroz said. ‘I have no control over the opinions of others. We have our strengths and qualities, but we have weaknesses like all teams. It’s time to speak on the field.’
Queiroz’s re-appointment has sparked a hugely sudden sense of anticipation and a first-ever breakthrough to the knockout stage is now expected at home. The impressive 1-0 win over a strong Uruguay, in which Porto striker Mehdi Taremi scored, will raise expectations. Iran is a technically effective team that presses hard and can hit the ball quickly on the basis of Friday evening. They are also ready for a fight, as defender Hossein Kanaani, a major influence, proved by going nose to nose with Luis Suarez after a disagreement.
But the political controversy will haunt Iran and the world cannot be shut out in Doha, where protest groups are likely to gather. Queiroz will answer a series of questions.
One player who has shown support is former Bayern Munich midfielder Ali Karimi
Some of those Iranian players who have found their voice, such as former Bayern Munich midfielder Ali Karimi, who has 11.4 million Instagram followers, have now retired. But Zobeir Niknafs, who plays for Tehran’s Esteghlal, shaved his head in an Instagram post that was a lively show of solidarity with the protests.
The core of Queiroz’s squad has also made it clear that they will not be silenced. No fewer than seven, including the stars of Uruguay’s victory, have changed Twitter profile photos to black marks as their own gesture of support. When the team returns to St. Polten stadium on Wednesday for another closed-door friendly against Senegal, protests over Amini’s death are expected outside. Austrian police will be reluctant to be arrested in a country where the right to protest is sacred. That’s how it will be from now on. Iran, a side of great promise, will take fireworks everywhere.