Iran National Team Refuses to Sing National Anthem at World Cup in Defiance of Brutal Regime

The protests occurring in Iran in response to Mahsa Amini’s  death from injuries sustained after her arrest for the “improper” wearing of a hijab.

Since Amini’s death,  Iranian men and women have continued to protest against the regime’s brutality and have paid the price for daring to speak up.  Protestors have faced  being fired on with an AK-47 , firing indiscriminately on protesters in the street from their moving vehicles, murdering Hadis Najafi , a powerful symbol of the uprisings, the kidnapping, torture, rape and murder of Nika Shakarimi,  a woman  being dragged by police and sexually assaulted by a gang of Islamic Republic oppressive forces and sadly, so much more.

When Iran’s World Cup team took the field for their opening match Monday, they refused to sing their national anthem before the match. The act was a show of support for the mass protests taking place in Iran after Amini’s death and the violent, brutal crackdowns on protestors that followed.

The crowd, which included many Iranians, booed the anthem in solidarity with the players. 

Reuters reports: 

Iran’s World Cup team declined to sing their anthem before their opening World Cup match on Monday in a sign of support for mass protests back home after many fans accused the squad of siding with a violent state crackdown on the unrest.

Protests demanding the fall of the ruling Shi’ite Muslim theocracy have gripped Iran since the death two months ago of young woman Mahsa Amini after her arrest for flouting the strict Islamic dress code.

Ahead of the match, no Iranian player had voiced support for the demonstrations by compatriots from all walks of life, one of the most sustained challenges to the cleric elite since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“All of us are sad because our people are being killed in Iran but all of us are proud of our team because they did not sing the national anthem – because it’s not our national (anthem), it’s only for the regime,” said an Iranian fan attending the World Cup who asked not to be named.

Image: Screen shot The Irish Sun  

Iranians in the crowd were moved to tears by the act of solidarity with protesters.

An Iranian official seemed confused and unnerved by the crowd booing the anthem.

In an embarrassing contrast to the act bravery by the Iranians, the British players chose the moment to pander to wokeism and took a knee during their anthem to protest “racism, injustice and police brutality.”

The Iranian players face potentially harsh and brutal repercussions for their act.

British players will get another woke-trophy.