Now the man with 40 goals in 64 international matches is attacking the regime in his home country. He has had enough of women’s oppression and supports the protests that have arisen after Mahsa Amini died after being arrested by the morality police. The 22-year-old had shown too much hair under her hijab. For that, she was taken to the police station in Iran’s capital, Tehran, where photos show her lying about it. Witness descriptions indicate that she was beaten by the police. In the aftermath, thousands of residents have flocked to the streets. Now Azmoun has also had enough. He defied the ban imposed on him as an Iranian national team player with a crystal clear message on Instagram: – Look what you are doing to our people. Shame on you! You kill without hesitation. Long live Iranian women! PUBLISHED ON INSTAGRAM: Sardar Azmoun Not long after he came out with his opinions on social media, all his posts were deleted. A number of other national team players stopped following him at the general secretary in the union order, according to the journalist Armin Ghobadi Pasha. He works in London-based Iran International. On Twitter, he writes that there will now be a split in the player group. Swedish-born Saman Ghoddos will be among the players on Azmoun’s side. – In the worst case, they throw me out of the national team. I sacrifice it (to play for the national team) for every hair of Iran’s women, writes Azmoun. news has tried to get a comment on the statement from the Iranian embassy in Norway, so far without success. KEY PLAYER: Sardar Azmoun goes hard against the regime on his Instagram account. Photo: FARSHAD ABBASI / AFP The Iranian star has spent most of his senior career in Russia, but this summer was ready for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. He is not the only Iranian football profile who has spoken out critical of the regime. Former Bayern Munich player Ali Karimi has made statements of support for Iran’s women to his nearly 12 million followers on Instagram. According to the Telegraph, the Fars news agency – which is controlled by the Iranian National Guard – has asked that he be taken care of by the police. – Associated with risk Kjetil Selvik is a researcher at the Norwegian Foreign Policy Institute (NUPI) and believes that the international condemnation has been stronger now than during other demonstrations in the last five years. – It is associated with risk to come up with such open criticism on several levels. But now the authorities in Iran have many other concerns right now. If they get control of the situation, they will not forget this type of statement. It is brave and an expression of the support that many Iranians express for the protests, even if they do not participate themselves. RESEARCHER: Kjetil Selvik has a PhD in political science from Sciences Po in Paris and researches states and regimes in the Middle East. Photo: CHRISTOPHER OLSSON / Christopher Olssøn – There has been more international condemnation than usual. There has been a very large mobilization among Iranians in other countries, says Selvik to news. – There have been protests before the last few years which have been quite violent in the last five years, but there has been a slightly different profile to them, because it has been to a greater extent linked to living conditions, price levels and a lack of basic services. Whereas now the focus is on women’s veils and that they have been in the first row. It’s new. He believes that some of the protests in recent years have received little international attention. And the authorities have always managed to take back control. – They have a strong apparatus of repression, and they have a part of the population that has supported this system out of their own conviction and because they have been indoctrinated to believe that it is the best government and that the alternative will be harmful and dangerous for Iran. – Important message Moloud Hajizadeh previously worked as a journalist in Iran, but is now a writer in Norway. Hajizadeh was imprisoned in his home country for asking critical questions of the regime. CRITICAL: Hajizadeh points out the importance of public figures speaking out in the matter. Photo: Håkon Eliassen / news She has long fought a battle for, among other things, women’s rights in Iran, and believes it is important that Azmoun – and others – speak out on the subject. – He had never criticized the regime before, while there were other protests in Iran in the past. This is the first time that some athletes and artists have opposed the regime so directly and criticized them harshly. This case is important because it has an important message for the protesting people in the streets, and that is that today all people in Iran are united, says Hajizadeh to news. She also points out that several people have spoken out critically against the regime recently, including the former footballer Ali Karimi. – When famous figures protest and oppose like ordinary people, hope and empathy increase. This empathy could increase the strength of Iran’s protests. People protesting in the streets also realize that they are not alone, says Hajizadeh.
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Iranian football star Sardar Azmoun raged against his own regime – then the post was deleted – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
