Iran’s World Cup team mouths along to national anthem ahead of Wales match

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The majority of Iran’s World Cup squad mouthed along with their country’s national anthem ahead of a match against Wales on Friday, after silence in an earlier game was seen as expressing solidarity with protesters back home.

Iran has been rocked by unrest for months, since the death in custody of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini on September 16.

The protests have focused on women’s rights in the Islamic Republic – Ms. Amini was detained by morality police for allegedly wearing her veil improperly – but have been particularly strong in Kurdish areas of the country, where many already want to break away from Tehran’s rule.

On Thursday, Iranian authorities arrested Kurdish-Iranian soccer player Voria Ghafouri for “insulting the national team” and “propaganda against the system,” according to the official IRNA news agency.

He is one of several players who have been arrested for expressing support for protests, or dropped from the national team.

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Asked at a news conference in Doha ahead of Friday’s game about the unrest at home, Iran striker Mehdi Taremi said the team was in Qatar to play soccer. “We are not under pressure,” he added with regard to singing – or not singing – the national anthem.

Their coach, Carlos Queiroz, said it was unfair for the media to ask players questions about human rights.

“It’s strange that you don’t ask these questions to other coaches and players. Some of them do not talk about such matters in their countries,” Mr. Queiroz said.

“Let the players play football like other teams. The players are not the enemies of the fans.”

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When the national anthem played at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on Friday, the majority of players seemed to murmur or mouth along, though few were singing with the gusto of the Welsh players moments before. Many Iranian fans in the stadium appeared to boo or jeer the anthem.

That apparent disdain did not extend to getting behind the players, however, with the Iranian crowd often deafening in their enthusiasm as their team beat Wales 2-0.

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Iranians in Qatar and around the world who spoke to The Globe in the run-up to the World Cup said they were conflicted about supporting their team, which many saw as representing Tehran rather than the Iranian people.

Britain-based activist Elika Ashoori was hopeful the team “might yet surprise the people of Iran,” but said that for many Iranians, their feeling toward the national side “has soured.”

“Having said that, I also believe in light of Qatar’s backing of the Islamic Republic and by condemning any potential protests, the public and athletes are in a perilous situation,” she added.

Also on Thursday, the United Nations Rights Council voted to appoint an independent investigation into Tehran’s bloody repression of the protests.

Volker Turk, the UN human rights commissioner, had earlier demanded that Iran end its “disproportionate” use of force, which has been particularly brutal in Kurdish areas.

Ottawa welcomed the resolution in a statement, saying Canada was “deeply alarmed at the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in Iran.”

It added: “Iranians have bravely taken to the street in mass protest, at great risk to themselves and their loved ones, to demand justice, accountability, and the full respect of their human rights.

“We call on Iran to: end all violence; stop indicting peaceful protestors with charges punishable by death; uphold all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the rights to freedom of expression, and freedom of religion or belief; and to ensure credible investigations into all human rights violations.”

With a file from Reuters