As the U.S. males’s soccer crew confronted Iran on the World Cup in Doha Tuesday night time, tensions ran excessive out and in of Al Thumama Stadium between Iranians voicing assist for the anti-regime protests in Iran, and pro-regime supporters.
One video posted on-line appeared to indicate a gaggle of pro-regime followers harassing a person sporting a shirt studying “Women, Life, Freedom,” a key slogan of protesters in Iran. In one other video, the identical man mentioned frantically, “They attacked us! They attacked her, they attacked this girl… They just started attacking us… because of the T-shirts.”
Rasmus Tantholdt, a world correspondent from TV2 Denmark, tweeted the video, together with one other clip showing to indicate Qatari safety brokers attempting to cease him from filming a girl shouting, “Women, Life, Freedom.” “This is crazy, they are attacking people out there… small kids,” he’s heard saying within the video.
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Emblematic of the divisions, an AFP video confirmed scuffles breaking out amongst pro-and anti-regime Iranians exterior the stadium after the U.S. match. The footage confirmed a girl sporting a T-shirt with the protest slogan “Woman, life, freedom” being harassed by Iranian males as she gave a televised interview.
Several different Iranian followers informed CBS News they did not dare carry their T-shirts and flags studying, “Women, Life, Freedom!” to the stadium final night time as a result of earlier than the Iran-Wales sport final Friday, stadium officers had both confiscated the gadgets or barred them from coming into.
“They didn’t let us in,” mentioned Ali Seyedi from Toronto, “and it looks like Qatari government is working with the Iranian regime very well. … This it not the way it should be.”
According to the principles of FIFA, soccer’s world governing physique, “political, religious or personal messages or slogans” are banned. CBS News has requested FIFA for clarification, nevertheless it has not responded.
Last night time, a sea of Iranian flags might be seen – however solely the official flag of the Islamic Republic, not Iran’s pre-revolutionary flag that includes a lion and solar, an indication that symbols of opposition wouldn’t be tolerated on the premises.
Many Iranian followers on the stadium additionally expressed issues that pro-regime supporters and plainclothes Iranian brokers had been filling the crowds, filming and figuring out protesters.
London-based Iran International has reported it obtained paperwork displaying Iranian authorities had been secretly collaborating with Qatar to manage who attends the World Cup and to restrict any shows of dissent.
The report mentioned that in an audio clip, General Ghasem Ghoreyshi, a deputy commander of Iran’s Basij paramilitary forces, mentioned “anti-revolutionaries” had purchased “5,330 tickets” to the event, including that “our boys have checked the list of the ticket holders and at least 500 people” are recognized opponents of the Iranian regime.
Ghoreyshi additionally mentioned the regime is paying the bills of supporters to attend Iran’s video games on the World Cup in Qatar and to indicate assist for the Islamic Republic, in response to the Iran International report.
An Iranian fan who was waving an official Islamic Republic flag Tuesday night time mentioned he obtained neither free airfare nor World Cup tickets to fly to Doha from Iran.
“We came only to encourage the team of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” mentioned the person, who recognized himself as Mahmoud Kalampour from Bandar Abbas, Iran.
When requested what he thinks of the “Women, Life, Freedom” chants, he responded, “It’s better I don’t get into it.”
Some Iranian followers on the sport Tuesday night time had been divided on which crew to assist.
“We decided to just you know, root for the U.S. because of everything that is going on back in Iran, innocent people are being killed,” mentioned Iranian-American Simo Mozaffari.
Her husband Sam Fekrirad, added, “We are Iranian, proud Iranians. We’ve lived there, but we feel like if we support Iran here, we’re supporting that regime.”
But Sara Ghods of Washington, D.C. mentioned she supported each groups.
“I’m torn because my parents are Iranian and yet I was born in America, so there’s always a clash of cultures, but I’m just so happy to be here.”
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Iran’s nationwide soccer crew, referred to as Team Melli, was navigating tough terrain: They had been below stress to remain in keeping with the regime or voice assist for protesters of their homeland.
Before the crew’s first match, Captain Ehsan Hajsafi had expressed some assist and the gamers abstained from singing the anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran. But of their second and third matches, they largely mumbled alongside.
While Team Melli has many supporters in Iran, some protesters there see it as consultant of the regime.
When the crew misplaced 0-1 to the United States Tuesday night time, some anti-government protesters in Iran started dancing within the streets and honking their horns in Tehran and in a number of different cities.
Activists mentioned safety brokers opened hearth on among the celebrations, injuring a number of and fatally taking pictures 27-year-old Mehran Samak whereas in his automotive.