Ex-FIFA boss Sepp Blatter wants Iran to be excluded from Qatar World Cup 2022; here's why
Just days after admitting that rewarding Qatar the hosting right for the 2022 edition of the World Cup was a 'mistake', former FIFA President Sepp Blatter has sparked massive outrage by stating that Iran should be excluded from the showpiece tournament. Here's why:
FollowFormer FIFA President Sepp Blatter has stated that Iran should not be allowed in the World Cup owing to the widespread protests by its people against the government in the wake of the death of a woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of mortality police.
"Iran should be excluded from the World Cup," Swiss tabloid Blick quoted Blatter as saying, adding that the former FIFA boss also demanded harsh consequences for what's transpiring in the Islamic Republic.
At a talk at its publisher's headquarters, Blick also stated that Blatter claimed he would have removed Iran from the World Cup if he was still in charge of things at FIFA. Blatter was also quoted as saying that it was understandable why FIFA President Gianni Infantino had not taken a stance on Iran.
This comment from the former FIFA boss comes just days after he admitted that giving the hosting rights for the 2022 edition of the showpiece tournament to Qatar was a 'mistake'.
The Iranian protests represent one of the most audacious challenges to the country's clerical leaders since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Since the death of Iranian Kurdish lady Mahsa Amini in September following her imprisonment for allegedly disobeying Iran's draconian dress code enforced on women, Iran has accused foreign foes of inciting unrest.
Despite a brutal crackdown, the demonstrations that at first saw women cut their hair and burn their hijab headscarves have grown into a larger movement calling for the overthrow of the Islamic republic.
Meanwhile, activists have called on football enthusiasts attending Iran's matches at the World Cup 2022 to chant the name of Mahsa Amini. Women's rights activist Negin Shiraghaei has urged spectators to sing out the name of 22-year-old Amini in the 22nd minute of each game.
"Join us to remind the world about what's happening in Iran by shouting Mahsa's name at minute 22 of football matches this World Cup," said a post on her Twitter account.
Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-born activist based in New York who opposes the obligatory hijab, also urged World Cup supporters to chant Amini's name. "Help us immortalise #MahsaAmini and our fight against this brutal regime. At the 22nd minute of each World Cup game, say #MahsaAmini," she tweeted.
Since protests following Amini's death began, at least 304 people have died in Iran, according to the Oslo-based organisation Iran Human Rights. Fury over the severe dress codes for women sparked the protests, which have since expanded into a movement against the theocracy that has governed Iran since the fall of the monarchy in 1979.
Iranian sports players are among the famous people who have publicly supported the Amini protests, which has gotten some of them into difficulty with the law. Hossein Manahi, a former Iranian international football player, was detained in late September for allegedly encouraging "riots" on social media, according to state media.
Footage posted online appears to show that all but two members of Iran's national football squad refused to perform the anthem prior to their friendly match against Nicaragua on Thursday night in Tehran.
In what was perceived as a memorial to those slain in the protests, the entire team remained in black for the anthems rather than donning Iran's national uniform towards the end of September.
The Islamic Republic has made an effort to paint the protest movement as a scheme concocted by the US and its supporters.
Iran starts their FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign in Qatar against England on November 21. The country will also face Wales and United States in their Group B matches of the tournament that will be held between November 20 to December 18.
