Iran media blames humiliating World Cup loss on protests
Iran was reeling Tuesday from the humiliation of starting the World Cup with a lopsided 6-2 loss against England in a match overshadowed by protests on and off the field
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Iran was reeling Tuesday from the humiliation of starting the World Cup with a lopsided 6-2 loss against England in a match overshadowed by protests on and off the field.
Hard-line Iranian media sought to blame the defeat on the unrest that has gripped the Islamic Republic since the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country's morality police. Iranian newspapers turned to the familiar tactic of accusing foreign enemies, including the United States, Britain and Israel, of stirring up protests to throw the national team off its game.
“Iran - 2; England, Israel, Saudi and traitors - 6,” read the headline in hard-line daily Kayhan. The newspaper, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran’s rout came after “weeks of unfair and unprecedented psychological warfare against the team ... from domestic and foreign-based traitors." It added that a “political media current” has sought to “damage the spirit of Iran’s team by attacking them.”
Iran fans in the stands on Monday chanted Amini’s name, held signs and wore T-shirts with protest slogans and booed during the national anthem. Many fans appeared conflicted over whether to even support their national team against the backdrop of security forces’ violent crackdown on demonstrations. At least 419 people have been killed since the protests erupted, according to the watchdog Human Rights Activists in Iran. As the game unfolded on Monday, Iranian security forces unleashed heavy gunfire against protesters in a Kurdish town in the country’s west.
