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Team Iran Wears Green in Support of Protest Movement

It is rare that international politics fails to find its way onto the stage of international sporting events and yesterday's World Cup qualifying matches were no exception. In a match beamed live to Iran, some members of the Iranian national soccer team wore green armbands in support of the Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi and the hundreds of thousands back home protesting the results of last week's disputed presidential election. The players wearing armbands reportedly included the team captain, Mehdi Mahdivikia. The armbands were removed when the team came out for the second half.

The protesters received additional support from fans in the stands at the game. Some of the fans unfurled signs and banners that would have been seen back in Iran, despite the government's latest tightening of restrictions on internet and satellite use.

Since this is a sports related blog, I should report that the Iran - South Korea match ended in a 1-1 draw. South Korea had already qualified and Iran's hopes were dashed when North Korea took the spot away from it with a 0-0 tie with Saudi Arabia later in the day.

Full post as published by Sports Biz on June 18, 2009 (boomark / email).