@adelsarsour_: #worldcup

Sapphire :

And who are you exactly to tell Iranians how they should feel about team meli?? That’s for them to decide. While this team claims they are "just here to play football" and that sports should be separate from politics, their very own existence on this team is a political choice made by the state. Soccer in Iran has long been political and is tightly controlled by the state. The head of the country's soccer federation, Mehdi Taj, is a former senior commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the military force that defends Iran's clerical system of government. Their star player, Sardar Azmoun, who was present at previous World Cups, was left out after publicly criticizing the regime over the killing of Iranian civilians. Many talented players have lost opportunities simply for speaking up for their people. So spare us the lectures about how football and politics are supposedly separate. For Iranians, everything becomes political when the state decides who gets to represent the country and who gets punished for speaking out. This is the same team that stepped off the bus and honored children killed in U.S. strikes, yet remained silent about protesters killed, imprisoned, and brutalized inside Iran. That selective silence is exactly why many Iranians feel conflicted about what this team represents. So when foreigners try to tell Iranians how they should feel about Iran's national team, maybe consider that you don't live with the consequences. Many of the same people giving these lectures couldn't tell the difference between Iran and Iraq six months ago, dismissed Iranians who spoke out against the regime as "Zionists," and routinely dehumanized Iranian voices when it was inconvenient. YOU don't get to ignore that history and then DICTATE how Iranians should feel about a team that many see as representing far more than football. Iranians have every right to decide for themselves whether this team represents them, and nobody outside that reality gets to make that decision for them.

John Snow :

arezoohaka0 :

Who are you???

J :

Not protesting the people but protesting the government and its actions which the players represent

SanNaz 🇬🇧/🇮🇷🍁 :

Louder please 🙌🏼

Mira :

Iranian here and I totally agree with you . let's separate sport and politics and take a break and enjoy these memorable moments of joy ..

Smallville :

So embarrassing 😭

kiana :

Exactlyyyyyy

💚313 :

Wallahhhh

The London Life :

Agreed 💯

🐆 :

Yep

Sapphire :

user2810656705297 :

The Iranian People are NOT The Enemy!!

muhoo :

If it’s not political, then why isn’t Sardar Azmoun playing?

vohctccy ☦️𓄂𓆃🦁 :

They dont represent us

Harry :

They are bunch of clowns

gelareh1111 :

🎙️

Lex :

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

giannispetr :

They’re actually mossad agents… can’t be possible an Iranian to be in favor of the USAs Israels war to Iran even if someone is against the Iranian government….

𝓑✰ :

Real Iranians support their team. Those Pahlavi supporters are Farsi speaking Israelis. They do not speak for us.

Martin2 :

Those player are fine with women be oppressed in their country so shame on you for trying to shame people who want humanrights