FIFAWC '22
Iranian team refuse to sing national anthem ahead of World Cup match in Qatar in support of anti-govt protest back home
Doha/IBNS: In their first match at the FIFA World Cup 2022 against England, Iran's players did not sing the country's national anthem in apparent support of anti-government protesters in their homeland.
Ahead of the game in Qatar, captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh said the team would decide together whether or not to refuse to sing the anthem in a show of solidarity for demonstrations that have rocked the regime in Iran.
The Iranian players stood impassively and grim-faced as their anthem was played at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.
Iran has been shaken by two months of nationwide protests since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in morality police custody on Sept 16.
Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, died three days after her arrest in Tehran over an alleged breach of the Islamic republic's dress code for women, which includes the mandatory hijab headscarf.
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