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Photo| No red cards: Iranian women openly attend FIFA football match

They had to sit well apart from the men, and the stadium was practically empty, but thousands of Iranian women in merry jester hats and face paint blew horns and cheered Thursday at the first FIFA soccer match they were allowed to freely attend in decades. In what many considered a victory in a decades-long fight by women in Iran to attend sporting events, they wrapped themselves in the country's vibrant red, green and white colors and watched with excitement as Iran thrashed Cambodia 14-0 in a 2022 World Cup qualifier at Tehran's Azadi, or Freedom, Stadium.

Updated on: Oct 15, 2019 10:05 AM IST

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Iranian women cheer during the World Cup 2022 Group C qualification football match between Iran and Cambodia at the Azadi stadium in Tehran on October 10. The Islamic republic had barred female spectators from football stadiums for around 40 years, with clerics arguing they must be shielded from the masculine atmosphere. Women fans attended a football match freely for the first time in decades, after FIFA threatened to suspend the country over its controversial male-only policy. (Atta Kenare / AFP)

Updated on Oct 15, 2019 10:05 AM

Iranian women cheer during the World Cup 2022 Group C qualification football match between Iran and Cambodia at the Azadi stadium in Tehran on October 10. The Islamic republic had barred female spectators from football stadiums for around 40 years, with clerics arguing they must be shielded from the masculine atmosphere. Women fans attended a football match freely for the first time in decades, after FIFA threatened to suspend the country over its controversial male-only policy. (Atta Kenare / AFP)

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An Iranian woman gets her national flag painted on her face as she arrives at the Azadi stadium ahead of the match. In what many considered a victory in a decades-long fight by women in Iran to attend sporting events, they wrapped themselves in the country’s vibrant red, green and white colors and watched with excitement as Iran thrashed Cambodia 14-0 in the qualifier at Azadi, or Freedom, Stadium. (Atta Kenare / AFP)

Updated on Oct 15, 2019 10:05 AM

An Iranian woman gets her national flag painted on her face as she arrives at the Azadi stadium ahead of the match. In what many considered a victory in a decades-long fight by women in Iran to attend sporting events, they wrapped themselves in the country’s vibrant red, green and white colors and watched with excitement as Iran thrashed Cambodia 14-0 in the qualifier at Azadi, or Freedom, Stadium. (Atta Kenare / AFP)

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Women show the victory sign as they arrive for the match. Women have been banned from many sporting events in Iran since 1981, during the early years of the country’s Islamic Revolution. Iran is the world’s last nation to bar women from soccer matches. Saudi Arabia recently began letting women see games. (Atta Kenare / AFP)

Updated on Oct 15, 2019 10:05 AM

Women show the victory sign as they arrive for the match. Women have been banned from many sporting events in Iran since 1981, during the early years of the country’s Islamic Revolution. Iran is the world’s last nation to bar women from soccer matches. Saudi Arabia recently began letting women see games. (Atta Kenare / AFP)

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As one woman shouted from a passing minibus before the match: “We are here finally!” So far, Iran’s hard-line Islamic theocracy is not willing to go as far some women would like. Authorities announced they will allow women to attend only international soccer matches. (Atta Kenare / AFP)

Updated on Oct 15, 2019 10:05 AM

As one woman shouted from a passing minibus before the match: “We are here finally!” So far, Iran’s hard-line Islamic theocracy is not willing to go as far some women would like. Authorities announced they will allow women to attend only international soccer matches. (Atta Kenare / AFP)

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Under pressure from FIFA, Iran let a carefully controlled number of women into the stadium, allocating them 4,000 tickets in a venue that seats about 80,000 people, and arranged for 150 female security personnel in black chadors to watch them. They sat at least 200 meters from the few thousand men at the match. (Atta Kenare / AFP)

Updated on Oct 15, 2019 10:05 AM

Under pressure from FIFA, Iran let a carefully controlled number of women into the stadium, allocating them 4,000 tickets in a venue that seats about 80,000 people, and arranged for 150 female security personnel in black chadors to watch them. They sat at least 200 meters from the few thousand men at the match. (Atta Kenare / AFP)

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A woman cheers ahead of the World Cup Qatar 2022 Group C qualification match with Cambodia. Iranian state television, long controlled by hard-liners, aired footage of women cheering, and commentators even acknowledged their presence. “There can be no stopping or turning back now,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement. “History teaches us that progress comes in stages, and this is just the beginning of a journey.” (Atta Kenare / AFP)

Updated on Oct 15, 2019 10:05 AM

A woman cheers ahead of the World Cup Qatar 2022 Group C qualification match with Cambodia. Iranian state television, long controlled by hard-liners, aired footage of women cheering, and commentators even acknowledged their presence. “There can be no stopping or turning back now,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement. “History teaches us that progress comes in stages, and this is just the beginning of a journey.” (Atta Kenare / AFP)

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Iranian players greet their fans after the football match. In 2006, then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he wanted women to attend matches to “improve soccer-watching manners and promote a healthy atmosphere.” However, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state, opposed the decision. (Atta Kenare / AFP)

Updated on Oct 15, 2019 10:05 AM

Iranian players greet their fans after the football match. In 2006, then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he wanted women to attend matches to “improve soccer-watching manners and promote a healthy atmosphere.” However, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state, opposed the decision. (Atta Kenare / AFP)

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Then, last year, Iranian authorities allowed a select group of women into Azadi Stadium by invitation only to watch the Asian Champion League final. Infantino said that “FIFA now looks more than ever toward a future when ALL girls and women wishing to attend football matches in Iran will be free to do so, and in a safe environment.” (Atta Kenare / AFP)

Updated on Oct 15, 2019 10:05 AM

Then, last year, Iranian authorities allowed a select group of women into Azadi Stadium by invitation only to watch the Asian Champion League final. Infantino said that “FIFA now looks more than ever toward a future when ALL girls and women wishing to attend football matches in Iran will be free to do so, and in a safe environment.” (Atta Kenare / AFP)

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