FIFA World Cup 2022: Human rights groups call for Iran to be ruled out of the Qatar tournament
Activists have asked FIFA to kick Iran out of the Football World Cup in Qatar, citing the oppression of women. Iran, which belongs to the same group as Qatar’s England and Wales, has sparked mass protests after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police moral custody for wearing a hijab that was too loose. Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022 fans can buy Iran Vs USA Tickets from our website.
At least 83 people have been killed for displaying the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code for women. A month earlier, women were allowed to play a domestic match at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium for the first time in more than 40 years, amid calls to remove Iran from the World Cup.
However, the Iranian women’s group Open Stadiums, a sport that aims to bring women into football, has written to FIFA president Gianni Infantino expressing their doubts that the stadium will remain open.
“Iranian women do not believe the authorities of the Islamic Republic or the Iranian Football Federation that the Azadi Stadium will remain open for them after the 2022 World Cup,” the statement said.
Why is FIFA giving the Iranian state and its representatives a global stage if it not only refuses to respect fundamental human rights and dignity but is currently also torturing and murdering its own people?”
The letter also accused Infantino of “blank words” because women continue to be “excluded from our ‘beautiful game’ and systematically suppressed when we try to enter Iranian stadiums”.
A group of exiled Iranian athletes and activists called “United for Navid” called for Iran’s removal from the World Cup.
“FIFA has banned Russia from international competitions because of its invasion of Ukraine and human rights violations,” the statement said.
“We respect this position of FIFA, which does not tolerate the unnecessary killing and torture of thousands of innocent civilians. We Iranian athletes ask you to do the same with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
“Iran brutally murders and tortures protesters and oppresses women by criminalizing watching football or showing a few locks of hair. FIFA’s silence is confirmation of these human rights violations.”
Sahar Khodayari
Both groups have brought the case to FIFA of Sahar Khodayari, who was jailed in 2019 for attempting to play football as a man and later set himself on fire in protest.
“We hope you have not forgotten our blue girl, Sahar Khodayari,” reads the letter from United for Navid.
“Remember Sahar Khodayari, aka ‘The Blue Girl? She was also taken to the Votara Detention Center and given a prison sentence before committing suicide.”
Khodayari, 30, is known on social media as the “blue girl” because of the colour of her favourite team, Esteghlal. Football World Cup 2022 fans can buy England Vs Iran Tickets from our website.
Groups call on FIFA to ban regime from World Cup amid growing protests against athletes in Iran
United for Navid, an Iranian diaspora movement group, last week sent a letter to FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of world football, urging the suspension of the Iranian regime’s participation in sports over the violent crackdown in Tehran.
United for Navid has asked FIFA’s deputy secretary general Mattias Grafstrom to remove Iran from international competitions, including the upcoming World Cup in Qatar in November.
United for Navid
“FIFA has banned Russia from international competitions because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and human rights violations. We respect FIFA’s position and FIFA will not tolerate the senseless killing and torture of thousands of innocent civilians. We Iranian athletes ask you to do the same for the Islamic Republic of Iran,” United for Navid wrote.
The sports group added: “Iran brutally murders and tortures protesters and oppresses women by criminalizing watching football [soccer] or displaying a few locks of hair. FIFA’s silence is an endorsement of these human rights violations.”
Iran is in the same group as the United States at the World Cup. Iran has been hit by anti-regime demonstrations since the country’s “morality police” allegedly killed 22-year-old Mahsa Amini for not correctly covering her hair with a hijab.
In a letter to FIFA, Navid United demanded that “FIFA immediately suspend Iran’s participation in all competitions, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup.”
IOC President Thomas Bach
Fox News Digital has exclusive access to United for Navid’s campaign letter to the IOC. According to a letter to IOC President Thomas Bach: “Iranian athletes have been heavily attacked in the past two weeks: the Iranian government confiscated the personal data of Iranian football legend Ali Daei on his return from Turkey. Passport left the country.”
The letter continued: “15 security personnel raided the home of national football player Hossein Mahini, arrested him and confiscated his personal belongings. After showing support for the people, the government blocked the home team member of beloved former national football player Ali Karimi. “
United for Navid was founded after the Islamic Republic of Iran executed Greco-Roman wrestling champion Navid Afkari in September 2020. Prominent Iranian Athletes Organization seeks justice for Afkari and persecuted athletes in Iran.
Former Greco-Roman national team coach of Iran and American Sardar Pashaei oversees the United for Navid campaign. The IOC has been criticized by United for Navid for failing to punish the Iranian regime for its crackdown on athletes. FIFA World Cup 2022 fans can buy Iran Vs Wales Tickets from our website.
United for Navid wrote in a letter to the IOC: “The safety of Iranian athletes requires immediate action to prevent a repeat of the past. We urge adherence to your values and the recent ICO Human Rights Strategic Framework to protect the Islamic Republic of Iran from all Olympic qualifiers and competitions. We recognize that this decision has had serious consequences for the lives and careers of Iranian athletes. The responsibility for these blatant human rights violations is not theirs, but if you do nothing on your behalf, this violation will be approved.
United for Navid said in its letter: “The Iranian government has long targeted its own athletes and women on the sports field with little recourse. Do you remember when the security forces outside the stadium beat our women? We write to you when the fans try to enter the stadium.”
Iran’s Exiled Star Athletes
In a letter to Bach, Iran’s Exiled Star Athletes added: “We are writing to you for our ‘blue girl’ Sahar Khodayari, who never fulfilled her dream of seeing her favourite team play. Sahar was jailed for setting herself on fire stabbed in protest at her attempt to enter the stadium.”
The letter from Navid Union states that the Iranian regime ordered Persepolis FC head coach Karim Bagheri on Tuesday, including players from the national team (Soroush Rafiei, Alireza Biranvand, Milad Sarlak, Mortezapour Aliganji, Siamak Nemati, Kamal Saghamnia, Farshad Faraji and Hamed Pakdel) “appeared for questioning by one of Iran’s security forces and explained their media reports in support of the nationwide protests.”
Rob Koehler, director general of Global Athlete, a sports organization committed to promoting athletes’ rights, told Fox News: “In 2020, athletes from around the world are calling on the IOC to help save the lives of innocent people, athletes and wrestlers.”
He added: “As history repeats itself, Iran has once again used the popularity of athletes to set an example against protests against the Iranian government. This attempt to punish athletes for using their voices must stop. Last week, Iranian athletes reiterated their call for IOC to suspend Iran’s National Olympic Committee If the IOC does nothing, it is clear that their new strategic framework for human rights is not worth putting on paper, and they will continue to be complicit in inaction.
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