“I apologize that many people could not enter the stadium and watch the football match between the national teams of Iran and Lebanon,” Mohsen Davari, governor of Mashhad, told Iranian state television. IRIB. “Unfortunately, it was not possible for a large number of people outside to enter the stadium,” he added.
Iranian women were allowed to attend a national team football match in January for the first time in nearly three years during the World Cup qualifiers between Iran and Iraq. For 40 years, the Islamic republic has generally prohibited female spectators from attending football matches. The clerics, who play a major role in decision-making, argue that women should be protected from the masculine atmosphere and from the sight of men in sportswear, and whose bodies are therefore partially visible.
Iran threatened with suspension
World football’s governing body FIFA ordered Iran in September 2019 to allow women’s access to stadiums without restrictions. FIFA’s 2019 directive, which threatens Iran with suspension, came after a fan died after setting herself on fire for fear of being jailed for trying to attend a game. In 2018, she was arrested when she tried to enter a stadium dressed as a boy. His death had sparked an outcry and many had called for Iran to be banned from competition.
