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| Image Al Arabiya |
Prior to their matchup with England, the Iranian national team does not sing its anthem.
Many Iranian competitors in other sports have opted not to celebrate their triumphs in favour of the demonstrators.
The national anthem of the nation that has been experiencing a surge of protests against the harsh Iranian regime for the past two months was not sung by the eleven players from Iran's starting lineup when they took on England this Monday in a World Cup Group B match in Qatar.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh, the team captain, said earlier in the week that the locker room would "collectively" determine whether or not to perform the national anthem in support of the protests that have shook Iran for the past two months.
Since the death on September 16 of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman imprisoned for disobeying a severe dress code that mandates women wear the headscarf in public, Iran has been rocked by a wave of protests.
In sympathy with the protesters, a number of Iranian players from different sports have opted not to sing the national anthem or revel in their triumphs.
When Senegal and Iran played a friendly match in Austria on September 27 that ended in a score of 1–1, the Iranian team itself had already protested the singing of the national anthem.
The players then stayed silent, the majority of them bowing their heads, and were covered in a black jacket that obscured the national emblem.
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