Perfect pre-match… political. Iran and England expressed their opinion in their own way before the start of the meeting, the second match of this World Cup in Qatar, on Monday afternoon in Doha. For the first time, Iranians silently showed their support for social movements in their country by not playing their national anthem. Team Melli players, who announced this possibility before entering the race, remained closed and serious faces while the music was playing in the enclosure. The Iranians had already hidden their jersey under the parka in September.
In the stands, several Iranian fans categorically whistled their anthem, as evidenced by several videos filmed at the stadium. The audience also held in their hands several posters “Women’s Freedom of Life” (ed. note “Women, Life, Freedom”). According to AFP, the banner with this slogan has been removed. After September 14 and the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amani, who was arrested by the police, the situation in this Middle Eastern country, where part of the population is demanding changes in society, has become very tense.
No bandage but knee on the ground for the English
If the British, like six other recalcitrant chosen ones, refused to wear the One Love armband for fear of warning their captain Harry Kane that he would wear it, they still wanted to demonstrate their beliefs on the lawn. Gareth Southage’s players took to their knees as they did during the last Euro in 2021, resuming a gesture popularized by the Black Lives Matter movement. BBC journalist Alex Scott, by contrast, wore an armband banned by FIFA.
England and Iran are the first two teams to make it into this Group B. The United States and Wales will face each other on Monday evening (20:00) in another Group of the Day meeting.
Source: Le Parisien
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