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People in Iran want their own football team to lose, activist says. Explains why
FIFA World Cup: The Iranian team has been criticised by activist Masih Alinejad who says it “doesn’t represent the people but the regime”.
An Iranian activist said that the people of Iran want their team to lose the FIFA World Cup as anti-government protests continue in the country. The Iranian team has been criticised by activist Masih Alinejad who says it “doesn’t represent the people but the regime”.
As Iran has seen over two months of anti-government protests ever since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini under the custody of the morality police on September 16, the crackdown has led to around 400 more deaths, according to the human rights groups.
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Writing on Twitter, Masih Alinejad said: “Iran is the only country in the World Cup that its people want their national football team to lose since the team doesn’t represent the people but the regime. We want our people to win in the streets where protesters are getting killed for demanding freedom & dignity.”
Iranian football team, on the other hand, refused to sing the national anthem as an act of solidarity with anti-government protesters.
