A TOP Iranian football player has been arrested by the regime’s security forces over claims he spread ‘propaganda’.
Footballer Voria Ghafouri, 35, was detained on Thursday after a training session with his club Foolad Khuzestan on charges of having “tarnished the reputation of the national team and spread propaganda against the state.”
State media reported the 35-year-old was arrested for engaging in “propaganda against the regime” and supporting “rioters.”
Ghafouri was listed as a member of Iran’s 2018 World Cup squad but was not named in the final lineup playing at this year’s World Cup in Qatar.
The football player, originally from the Kurdish-populated city of Sanandaj, had posted a photo of himself on Instagram dressed in traditional Kurdish dress.
He was previously the captain of Iran’s club Esteghlal before his contract was terminated and he moved to Foolad Khuzestan in the southwestern city of Ahvaz.
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Many of the team’s fans suggested the reason behind his termination was for openly supporting the protests that broke out in the country in the past months.
Iran has already arrested a number of football figures for their stance on the protests, Al Arabiya reports.
It comes as a group of brave Iranian players who refused to sing their country’s national anthem before their first game against England could face severe consequences.
Their act was seen as a sign of disrespect and officials are already discussing punishment for the players when they return home.
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Those who chose not to sing the national anthem face time in prison or even the death penalty as political dissent is a crime in Iran subject to capital punishment.
And the national team’s defiance on such an international scale will spark fury amongst the regime – and could spark retribution.
Massoud Setayeshi, the spokesman for Iran’s Judiciary, said just days ago that punishments could be meted out for those who reject the anthem.
The regime has been brutally punishing those linked to the protests with over 15,000 people arrested and hundreds killed by the security forces.
The protests were sparked in September following the killing of Iranian Kurdish Mahsa Amini.
The 22-year-old woman was left with a fractured skull after being arrested by the morality police.
She was arrested after she was accused of not wearing a hijab in the correct way.
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Following her death demonstrations erupted across the country calling for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
The western Kurdish region of the country has seen particularly intense protests and a deadly crackdown by security forces.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
