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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
David Smith in Washington

‘We need action’: how an Iranian soccer player is using his fame to fight the regime

Political activism disrupted Mahmood Ebrahimzadeh’s soccer career in Iran in the 1970s.
Political activism disrupted Mahmood Ebrahimzadeh’s soccer career in Iran in the 1970s. Photograph: David Smith/The Guardian

Can soccer change the world? Mahmood Ebrahimzadeh, an Iranian international who played for his country in the Fifa World Cup, believes it can.

Ebrahimzadeh is one of a network of retired Iranian soccer players now living in exile and urging global support for the uprising currently rocking the country’s theocratic regime. The group is preparing a joint letter to Joe Biden calling for the president and the US to help the Iranian people just as they are helping the people of Ukraine.

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