Football, anthems and war: How Iran’s women’s football team became centre of an international incident

It was a moment of silence that spoke a thousand words.

When the Iranian women’s national football team refused to sing their country’s national anthem on Monday, 2 March, they were branded “wartime traitors” by state TV presenters. Broadcaster Mohammad Reza Shabazi went as far as saying their actions were the “pinnacle of dishonour”.