"We cannot deny the conditions in my country, they are not good. The players know it.”
Sitting in a Doha media centre, Qatar 2022 lanyard around his neck and the Iranian Football Federation crest on his chest, Iran captain Ehsan Hajsafi chose to confront the situation in his homeland head-on.
‘Situation’ is, of course, understating it. After the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the Iranian ‘morality police’ for violating the nation’s dress code in September, protests over women’s rights and other personal freedoms have swept the country.
The demonstrations, initially carrying the slogan #WomanLifeFreedom, have grown to encompass workers’ unions, students, ethnic minorities and more with increased demands to overthrow the Shi’ite clerics who have controlled Iran since the revolution of 1979.
In response the Iranian government has undertaken a hard-line campaign against these protests, using tear gas and live ammunition as part of a crackdown that has led to the deaths of more than 400 activists and around 17,000 arrests.
One case among the thousands has surfaced throughout world media in recent days – and in a way it hits rather close to home.
Footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani has been sentenced to death by hanging for taking part in what the judiciary claims was an ‘armed riot’. He has been charged as an ‘accessory to muharebeh’, a term meaning to wage war against God and the state.
Nasr-Azadani, 26, has played professionally as a right-back or right winger for a handful of seasons. During his time in the Persian Gulf Pro League with Tractor SC, he was a team-mate of former Celtic striker Anthony Stokes.
The pair never actually featured in a competitive match together with Nasr-Azadani having fallen out of favour by the time Stokes arrived in Tabriz, the north-western Iranian city in which Tractor SC are based, but they were part of the same squad for much of the 2018-19 season.
Tractor eventually finished fifth in that 2018-19 campaign with Stokes ending the season as the club’s top scorer with 13 in all competitions.
Nasr-Azadani, by contrast, went from 13 league appearances a season prior to no matches played and just once being named to the bench after a significant period out with a ruptured cruciate ligament.
Thereafter his career history is spotty. Though he did pop up with third-tier side Iranjavan for 10 games in season 2021-22, it is unclear if he was still playing at the advent of the current wave of protests and his subsequent detainment.
FIFPro, the organisation that represents professional footballers, still considers Nasr-Azadani one of its own regardless though. The union has taken to social media to plead that his punishment be rescinded.
“FIFPro is shocked and sickened by reports that professional footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani faces execution in Iran after campaigning for women’s rights and basic freedom in his country,” its statement read. “We stand in solidarity with Amir and call for the immediate removal of his punishment.”
PFA Scotland voiced its support for FIFPro’s stance, by releasing its own statement on Twitter saying that the organisation was “shocked” by the developments and that it “stands fully” with both Nasr-Azadani and FIFPro.
FIFA, football’s governing body, has so far remained silent as the World Cup draws to a close in Qatar, a country that shares a close political relationship with Iran.
However, while that particular organisation remains taciturn individual players do not.
Former Celtic midfielder Marc Crosas, for instance, not only voiced his support for Nasr-Azadani but chose to call out FIFA’s non-response by referencing comments made by its president, Gianni Infantino, at the onset of the World Cup.
Infantino, in a pre-tournament press-conference monologue seemingly railing against critics of Qatar’s human rights record, said: “Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arabic. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel [like] a migrant worker.
“Of course I am not Qatari, I am not an Arab, I am not African, I am not gay, I am not disabled. But I feel like it, because I know what it means to be discriminated [against], to be bullied, as a foreigner in a foreign country.
“We have been told many, many lessons from some Europeans, from the western world. I think for what we Europeans have been doing the last 3,000 years we should be apologising for the next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people.”
Crosas alluded to Infantino’s comments in his response to Nasr-Azadani’s situation, posting [translated from Spanish]: “Hey, FIFA, now is when you really have to use the strength and reach you have.
“Hopefully you're feeling a bit Iranian today, Mr Infantino. Amir Nasr-Azadani and the Iranian people need the same support that the world of football has given Ukraine, for example.”
The ex-Barcelona midfielder, who played at Parkhead between 2008 and 2011, was referring to FIFA’s decision to sanction Russian football teams due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. He went on to suggest that prominent footballers who intimated their support for a sporting boycott of Russia’s national and club sides while the war continues should now similarly take a stance on Nasr-Azadani and Iran.
Tagging Barcelona and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski – who tweeted his belief Poland were right to refuse to play Russia in a qualifier in February – Crosas said he expected “a tweet from @lewy_official [Lewandowski’s handle] refusing to play against Iran or Israel in the future, in the same way that he did against Russia a few months ago”.
When pushed as to what FIFA could conceivably do about the situation in Iran, 34-year-old Crosas replied citing the body’s actions with Russia.
He said: “They prohibited Russia from playing World Cup qualifiers. When they are interested, they get involved. When they are not interested, they don't...”
Two former Iran international players – Voria Ghafouri and Parviz Boroumand – were arrested during the protests before being released on bail last month. At the time of writing, Amir Nas-Azadani remains sentenced to death in Iran.
It is, perhaps, wise to leave the final word on this to the man whose quote we started with: Iran national football captain Ehsan Hajsafi.
"I hope,” he said that day in the Doha media centre with a Qatar 2022 lanyard around his neck and the Iranian Football Federation crest on his chest. “That the conditions change with the expectations of the people."
