Every member of the Iranian football team refused to sing the Islamic Republic’s national anthem before their World Cup match with England. The world will be watching to see if the same happens during their Friday game against Wales and the match against the US next Tuesday. This subtle yet impactful act of defiance has been attributed to their support of anti-government protests in their home country.
At a news conference prior to the match in Qatar, the team’s captain, Ehsan Hajsafi, expressed his solidarity with the protesters. "Before anything else, I would like to express my condolences to all of the bereaved families in Iran," he said. "They should know that we are with them, we support them and we sympathize with them." He later added that: “We have to accept the conditions in our country are not right and our people are not happy. We are here but it does not mean we should not be their voice or we should not respect them.”
