World Cup news: and the winner is….

November 22, 2022, 8:58 am , by Richard Lutz

The Iranian team lifts the cup…for bravery, says Richard Lutz

Yes, the Iranians team got well and truly destroyed 6-2 by a rampant eager English football team in Qatar.

But one World Cup thing is certain: by refusing to sing their own national anthem in front of a worldwide tv audience, they get the gold medal for sheer guts.

Yes, the English dominated the match. Yes, their team captain Harry Kane was not allowed to wear a special armband about discrimination against the gay community. But it all falls by the sidelines when you see what the Iranian side did.

I watched their faces as they showed the world their silent protest against the brutal Teheran regime that has reportedly killed 400 and arrested close to 17,000 after daily demonstrations on the bloody streets of the country. The faces were grim, determined and, yes, worried. This would not go unnoticed by their rulers. In fact, state tv banned close up coverage as the team stood silent. Its director was told to only show a wide shot to the domestic audience. Censorship on top of bloodlust brutality.

With this pre game wordless protest, who knows what the secret police will do back home?Would the footballers find a brother in a sudden unfortunate car accident; would a parent be arrested and languish in a prison; would their home suddenly burn down? This is the thuggish regime that the team turned its collective back on. Who knows what perils these athletes and their families now face?

I’ve been to Iran twice. It’s a culture, a nation, frantic to connect freely with the outside world. But its millions there simply cannot shrug off the chains of a despotic leadership..a leadership by the way that is raking in cash selling killer drones to the Russians.

Everywhere I went, from Teheran to Isfahan to Shiraz, people spoke, in coded language, about the need for change. Importantly, it was young women who mostly approached us and talked with us. This, despite being monitored by plainclothes police wherever we went. And a harried guide who had to report to the authorities every night of our trip to document what we did, where we went, maybe who we spoke to.

Back in the world of football, The Iranian captain, Ehsan Hajsafi, was cautious by saying he ‘supported’ the demonstrators, according to the BBC.

And the anxiety, I think, effected his team’s game where they were outplayed by England.

This is Hajsafi’s third World Cup. It will be his best. For many reasons.