Iran's Islamic Regime Threatens Families of Players Ahead of World Cup Match
There is a great turmoil in Tehran these days, as young women and girls have been staging massive, culturally-poignant protests against the Islamic regime that has been oppressing their rights as human beings for decades.
Worse still, Iran has threatened to execute thousands of these protesters over their demonstrations, in an effort to quell any future uprisings with fear and violence.
With the eyes of the world on Iran now, the regime is threatening the families of the nation’s top soccer players as they prepare for a match against the freest nation on the planet.
CNN reported Monday that families of the Iranian team have “been threatened with imprisonment and torture if the players fail to “behave” in the lead-up to Tuesday’s game against the United States.
The report added that the Iranian players had to meet with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps after their demonstration before the game against England.
Earlier Monday, USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter and team captain Tyler Adams were grilled by Iranian journalists in a surreal press conference.
Questioned about domestic immigration policy and a U.S. Navy ship in the Persian Gulf, Berhalter answered, “I don’t know enough about politics, I’m a soccer coach.”
The move comes after Iranian players showed solidarity with the demonstrators.
The Iranian soccer team has supported the protesters. Before the game against England, the soccer team stood silently for their home country’s national anthem, declining to sing along.
“Conditions in our country are not right, and our people are not happy,” Iranian team captain Ehsan Hajsafi told reporters after the game. Hajsafi further said that the victims’ families “should know that we are with them, we support them and we sympathize with them.”
The United States will need to win against Iran in order to move on to the next round of the tournament, while Iran needs only to draw, setting up a strategically-interesting match-up for Tuesday afternoon.
