Expel Iran from the World Cup: Women’s rights group writes to FIFA
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Salma Hossein
- . October 1, 2022
- . Update: November 11, 2022 12:31 am
Women’s rights group Open Stadiums has written to FIFA, an international governing body of association football, to expel the Islamic Republic of Iran from the World Cup as protests mount in the country after the death of a young Iranian woman in police custody.
Open Stadiums sent a letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, saying the Iranian security forces and government have continued to refuse access to female fans for games. In the letter, the Women’s rights organisation also called the Iranian FA a direct threat to the security of female fans in the Islamic nation.
The letter read, “The Iranian FA is not only an accomplice of the crimes of the Iranian regime, but it is also a direct threat to the security of female fans in the country and wherever our national team plays in the world. Football should be a safe space for everyone.”
The organisation suggested that Iran should be thrown out of the upcoming FIFA World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Qatar in November. The organisation asked in the letter, “Why would FIFA give Iran and its representatives a global stage? Where are the principles of FIFA in this regard?”
Read | Iran president says ‘chaos’ will not be accepted as protests continue
Open Stadium’s call comes as anti-hijab and anti-government protests continue in many cities across Iran over the death of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody. The woman was detained by Iran’s morality police on September 13 for allegedly not wearing her Hijab (headscarf) correctly. She was forced into the Iranian morality police van and taken to a station on Vezarat Street.
She was reportedly assaulted in the police van while being driven to a detention centre for a “re-education lesson” on Hijab. She was pronounced dead on September 16. After Amini’s funeral, protests erupted across Iran, demanding justice for her.
