Grandstands dominated by men
Football season in Iran starts almost without spectators
08/09/2023 10:41 p.m
The government kept rowing back until the very end. But under pressure from FIFA, women in Iran are now allowed to cheer on football matches from the stands. At the beginning of the current season, however, there is not much to see from them.
In Iran, the football season has started largely without the much-heralded start with women in the stands. However, in the southern Iranian city of Sirjan, Iranian women were present at the stadium for the match between Fulad and Gol Gohar, live TV images showed. In the capital, the match between champion Persepolis and Aluminum Arak kicked off without spectators. It was officially said that the reason for this was renovation work.
At the Asadi Stadium in Tehran, women have been allowed in the stands in individual games in the past. In addition to the metropolis, the city of Sirjan in the south has now also received permission to host games with spectators. Association chief Mehdi Taj followed the game himself in the stadium in Sirjan.
At the end of June, Taj announced that the National Security Council had given permission in principle. The powerful council in Iran actually deals with issues related to defense, but also the protection of the Islamic Revolution. Since then there have been many discussions about a possible opening of the ranks for women, officials rowed back more and more until the end.
Woman sets fire to protest
So far, women in Iran have only been allowed into the stands in a few exceptions, most recently during the friendly game against Russia. The country’s arch-conservative clergy argued that women had no place in stadiums with fanatical male fans. Under pressure from the world governing body FIFA, the ban has been relaxed somewhat in recent years.
The case of an Iranian woman who was arrested trying to enter the stadium in 2019 caused global horror. At the court hearing that followed, the football supporter known as the “blue girl” set herself on fire in protest and later succumbed to her injuries.