TEHRAN — Iran has once again denied women entry to a
football stadium to watch an international match, leaving hundreds of ticketed
fans locked out, Iranian media said Wednesday.
اضافة اعلان
The World Cup qualifier against Lebanon on Tuesday
night, won 2–0 by Iran, was played at the Imam Reza stadium in the northeastern
city of Mashhad.
“About 2,000 Iranian women, who had bought tickets
for the Iran-Lebanon match, were present in the perimeter of Imam Reza stadium,
but could not enter the stadium,” ISNA news agency said.
Iran’s team captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh joined in
criticism of the lockout.
“I don’t think anything would have happened if women
had come to the stadium, and this could promote our culture,” he said, quoted
on IRIB state television.
Mohsen Davari, governor of Mashhad, told IRIB: “I
apologize that many people couldn’t enter the stadium...”
“Unfortunately, a large number of people outside the
stadium were deprived of watching the game.”
In the face of the controversy, President Ebrahim
Raisi on Wednesday instructed the interior ministry to look into the incident.
For his part, Iran’s attorney general Mohammad Jafar
Montazeri said on radio that “if conditions allowed the sale of tickets to
women, a suitable place had to be found for them.”
The case was “not acceptable... and shows poor
management,” he said.
In January, women were allowed to attend an
international for the first time in almost three years, for a World Cup
qualifier against Iraq.
The Islamic republic has generally barred female
spectators from football and other sports stadiums since it was established in
1979.
Clerics, who play a major role in decision-making,
argue women must be shielded from the masculine atmosphere and sight of
semi-clad men.
But world football’s governing body FIFA ordered
Iran in September 2019 to allow women access to stadiums without restriction
and in numbers to be determined according to demand for tickets.
The FIFA directive, threatening Iran’s suspension
from competitions, came after a fan, Sahar Khodayari, died having set herself
on fire in fear of being jailed after trying to attend a match in disguise.
She had reportedly been detained in 2018 as she
tried to enter a stadium dressed as a male.
Her death sparked an outcry, resulting in calls for
Iran to be banned and its matches boycotted.
FIFA had been pushing for years for Iran to open its
stadiums to women, but Tehran had until 2019 only allowed a limited number of
women to attend matches on rare occasions.
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