The Iranian national soccer team will be returning to Iran after they were eliminated from the 2022 FIFA World Cup by falling 1-0 to the United States in a thrilling match on Tuesday afternoon. But when the team returns to Iran, they will receive far from a hero’s welcome. In fact, they’ll likely be beaten.
Before Iran‘s first match of the World Cup against England, the entire team stayed silent, refusing to sing while the nation’s national anthem played in the stadium. This was done in support of the current protests in the country.
Iran’s soccer team just refused to sing their national anthem.
Maybe this will help the folks who attack those who kneeled for ours see standing up to injustice in your own country is in fact a form of patriotism. @MarshaBlackburn pic.twitter.com/iQ34sMS8uy
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) November 21, 2022
Kenneth R. Timmerman, an author and Iran expert, told the New York Post that as a result of this protest, the players will likely be arrested and beaten once they return to Iran.
“I would be afraid of arrest,” Timmerman said. “Even if they had won, they would have been arrested, soundly beaten, and warned, ‘Don’t ever do this again.’”
Mike Baker, a former CIA covert operations officer, agrees that the players could be facing a harsh response when they return to the country.
“Given what we’ve seen from the Iranian regime … they’ve shown themselves to be brutal and there’s no reason to believe they’re going to suddenly become rational,” Baker said.
This just makes their protest even braver.
