On Friday, tensions escalated during Iran’s second match at the World Cup finals in Qatar, against the background of clashes between pro-government fans and opponents who supported the protests in the country.
And the “Associated Press” agency stated that the security of Ahmed bin Ali stadium, where the Iranian national team’s match against Wales was held, “confiscated a number of flags and T-shirts that express support for the protest movement in Iran.”
And the US agency added that fans were prevented from bringing pre-revolutionary Iranian flags to the match.
In the context, loyalists to the Iranian government removed the protest flags from the hands of its opponents, and a verbal confrontation broke out that included insults between the two parties, according to the same source.
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In contrast to what happened in the first match against England, the Iranian players sang their national anthem before the match with Wales.
Since last September 16, protests have continued across Iran following the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini (22 years), 3 days after she was arrested by the “morality police” concerned with monitoring women’s dress code.
The incident sparked widespread public anger in the political and media circles in Iran, amid conflicting accounts of the causes of death.
On November 22, the Iranian Human Rights Organization (based in Norway) announced, in a statement, that 416 people had been killed in the demonstrations taking place in the country.