CNN
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The families of Iran’s World Cup soccer team have been threatened with imprisonment and torture if the players do not “behave” before the game against the USA on Tuesday, a source involved in the security of the games said.
Following the refusal of Iranian players to sing the nation’s national anthem in their opening game against England on November 21, the source said the players were called to a meeting with members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The source said they were told their families would face “violence and torture” if they did not sing the national anthem or if they joined any political protest against the Tehran regime.
The players sang the anthem before their second game against Wales last Friday, which saw Iran win 2-0.
The source, who has been closely monitoring Iran’s security agencies operating in Qatar over the World Cup period, said dozens of IRGC officers have been deployed to monitor the Iranian players who are not allowed to mingle outside the squad or themselves. Meet with strangers.
“There are a large number of Iranian security officers in Qatar collecting information and monitoring the players,” the source said.
Carlos Queiroz, the Portuguese coach of Iran’s national team, met separately with IRGC officers after their threats to Iranian players and their families, the source said.
The source did not say what the content of the alleged conversation was. Queiroz said Iranian players can protest at the World Cup, but only within FIFA regulations.
The players, the source said, had been promised “gifts and cars” for the England game, but the regime, the source said, switched to threatening players and their families after the humiliation of the team’s refusal to sing their national anthem. Anthem.
“In the last game against Wales, the regime sent over hundreds of the actor’s supporters to create a false sense of support and favor among the fans. For the next game against the United States, the regime plans to greatly increase the number of actors in the Thousands,” the source said.
Iran and the US it. They play each other on Tuesday in a crucial Group B game.
Iran entered the World Cup under the shadow of domestic turmoil. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said the country is in a “full-fledged human rights crisis” as authorities crack down on anti-regime dissidents.
In Iran’s third month of protests, when the regime steps up deadly crackdowns
Protests, which experts have described as the most significant since the establishment of clerical rule after the Iranian revolution of 1979, have shaken Iran in recent months and threatened the country’s regime, which has been in power for more than 40 years.
The movement was sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died after being detained by Iran’s morality police, allegedly for not following the country’s conservative dress code. Iranian security forces unleashed a violent response.
On Sunday, Iranian state media called for the United States to pull out of the 2022 World Cup after the United States Soccer Federation changed Iran’s flag on its social media platforms to show support for protesters in Iran.
The federation has temporarily displayed Iran’s national flag on its official Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts without the emblem of the Islamic Republic. A now-deleted graphic of the Group B standings posted on Saturday showed the Iranian flag with only its green, white and red colours.
Soccer told CNN on Sunday that it wanted to change the official flag for 24 hours to show “support for the women in Iran who are fighting for basic human rights” but had always planned to go back to the original flag.
The change “was a one-time graph,” U. it. Soccer told CNN. “We have the main banner on our website and other places.” The emblem is now back on the US flag. it. Soccer’s social media channels.
A State Department spokesperson told CNN that it has not coordinated with U.S. officials. it. Soccer in the sporting body’s decision to change Iran’s flag on its social media accounts to show support for protesters in Iran.
