When their country's national anthem was played, they remained silent: Team Melli, as Iran's national soccer team is also known, refused to sing on Monday before their opening game at the World Cup in Qatar against England (stern reported). The gesture was widely taken as an acknowledgment, and at times a show of solidarity, with the popular uprisings in the Islamic Republic that have been raging across the country for weeks.
The silent protest could not be seen, at least not on Iranian state television, which censored the scenes. The audio track was also apparently interrupted during the game, during which protest calls from Iranian fans could be heard several times. Almost immediately after the game ended, internet access in the country was severely restricted.
Since the beginning of the protests against the leadership in Iran, which were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, the regime has reacted with extreme harshness and censorship against the ongoing demonstrations.
According to several reports, Iranian state television neither showed the silence of the Iranian squad during the national anthem nor the protest actions of the fans present who were critical of the regime. The pro-government Fars news agency also made no mention of the protest in its detailed coverage of the game, which Iran lost 6-2, according to a report in the Guardian.
As "The Athletic" reported, citing several people in Iran who only wanted to comment anonymously for security reasons, the transmission of the national anthem was interrupted halfway through.
According to this, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), responsible for the state television broadcaster, switched to a stadium long shot after the first three Iranian players were shown in the picture, who refused to sing the national anthem. In addition, throughout the broadcast, the sound from the stadium would cut out whenever the chanting of "bisharaf" - meaning "dishonorable" - was heard from the stands.
According to Athletic, all international broadcasting rights holders will be provided with multiple camera angles - alongside a common one for the game itself - to choose from during the warm-up, national anthems and post-game events.
Almost immediately after the end of the game, Internet access in Iran was severely restricted, according to "The Athletic" and the Bloomberg news agency. The Internet monitoring company NetBlocks confirmed a "major disruption" and announced that many people had been cut off from the mobile network.
In the course of the protests, the Iranian national team, otherwise popular across political borders, has become more and more caught between the fronts. While associations were already demanding that Iran be excluded from the World Cup, activists were hoping for expressions of solidarity from the players, who are likely to be under scrutiny like hardly any other team on the world stage.
"They got into a very precarious situation," Omid Namazi, a former assistant coach of the Iran national team, told the Washington Post. Iranian authorities and traveling intelligence agents apparently wanted players to remain silent, while Iranians "expect these guys who are celebrities and well-known to be their voice." He can't remember Iranian football ever being so political and polarized. "This is the biggest event in the world," he told the newspaper. "And obviously the regime is very concerned about it."
Shortly before the tournament started, all members of the team met with President Ebrahim Raisi to pose for a photo together, which brought heavy criticism to the squad.
"The result is that many Iranians see Team Melli not as their team but as the Islamic Republic team," wrote Iran-American analyst and commentator Holly Dagres of the US think tank Atlantic Council in a blog post. In contrast to other athletes in the country, the team would not have taken a stand on the protests for too long.
With the silent protest, Team Melli would have shown a "subtle attitude". But while their silences and stony faces may seem significant to outsiders, "it's a belated gesture that many Iranians interpret as meaningless given how little Team Melli has done to show solidarity with their international platform."
After the anthem was not sung, the players should not face any consequences for the time being. This will not happen during the tournament as not all players on the team could be banned, Iranian sports journalists wrote on Tuesday. But a temporary suspension or salary cuts for the players employed in the Iranian league would be quite conceivable after the World Cup - especially if the team performs poorly.
Sources: The Athletic, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Atlantic Council, Bloomberg, NetBlocks, with DPA news agency footage
