Iran has once again denied women entry to a football stadium to watch an international match, Iranian media said, shutting down hundreds of ticket fans.
Tuesday night’s World Cup qualifier against Lebanon, won 2-0 by Iran, was played at the Imam Reza Stadium in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
“About 2,000 Iranian women who bought tickets for the Iran-Lebanon match were present at the perimeter of the Imam Reza Stadium, but could not enter the stadium,” ISNA news agency said.
For this match, 12,500 tickets were sold, of which 2,000 were for women.
Mashhad governor Mohsen Dawry told IRIB state television: “I apologize that many people could not enter the stadium …
Unfortunately, a large number of people were deprived of watching the game outside the stadium.
Facing controversy, President Ibrahim Raisi on Wednesday ordered the Interior Ministry to look into the incident.
In January, women were allowed to compete internationally for the first time in nearly three years for the World Cup qualifiers against Iraq.
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The Islamic Republic has generally banned female spectators from football and other sports stadiums since it was established in 1979.
Clerics who played a major role in decision-making argue that women should be protected from the masculine environment and the sight of semi-clad men.
But world football’s governing body FIFA ordered Iran in September 2019 to allow women into the stadium without any restrictions and set the number of tickets on demand.
After FIFA’s directives threatened Iran’s suspension from competitions, a fan, Sahar Khodayari, has died, who set himself on fire for fear of going to jail after trying to attend a match in disguise.
He was reportedly detained in 2018 as he tried to enter the stadium dressed as a male.
Her death sparked an outcry, resulting in calls for sanctions on Iran and a boycott of its matches.
FIFA has been pushing Iran to open its stadiums to women for years, but Tehran only allowed a limited number of women to attend matches on rare occasions until 2019.
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