Iran coach: “Whatever they do, they want to kill them”

As a result of the situation that Iran is going through with the protests over the death of Masha Amini, the starting team of the Iranian national team refrained from singing the anthem, full of expressions in favor of the regime. After the defeat, Carlos Queiroz -technical director- emphasized the emotions faced during the last days by the players as the main cause of the thrashing. The squad of the Iranian National Team does not escape what happens in their country, with the demonstrations that derived from the death of Amini, arrested by the morality police not to wear the Islamic veil according to the strict rules of the regime. After two days since her arrest, the young woman was found dead, which plunged the country into a wave of protests that so far, because of the brutal repression, counts more than 370 dead. In its own tribute to Amini and in protest, the Iranian national team did not sing the national anthem before the match. “Bahman is the halo of glory of our faith. Your message, O Imam, of independence and freedom shapes our lives,” reads one of the stanzas. In that sense, Bahman is a clear reference to the month in which the triumph of the Islamic Revolution of 1979 is commemorated every year.After the defeat of the team led by Queiroz by 6 to 2 against England, the coach took responsibility away from the squad in the press conference. “You – the journalists – don’t know what the boys have been suffering these days. The guys just want to express themselves as players, but whatever they do, whatever they say, they want to kill them. They tell them to represent the country and play for the people,” he said then. The Iranian team has at least two matches left in the World Cup. Next Friday they will face Wales, while they will play the last match of the group stage against the United States the following Tuesday, November 29.

Original source in Spanish