In Iran, women and men are not allowed to be near each other unless they are husbands. — © REUTERS
Iranian police detained several professional footballers for a time after raiding a party where both men and women were present and alcohol was served. This is prohibited under Islamic law.
ReutersBron: Reuters
Men and women who are not married to each other are not allowed to have contact and drinking alcohol is also prohibited under the Islamic law in force in Iran. Such restrictions have sparked protests in Iran in recent months. The fuse in the powder keg was the death of a 22-year-old girl who was arrested for not wearing her headscarf.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that several footballers and ex-footballers from an unnamed top Tehran club – there are five: Persepolis, Esteghlal, Naft Novin Tehran, Saipa and Paykan – were briefly detained after a raid on a party outside the Iranian capital.
“Some players were in a state of intoxication,” said Tasnim.
It wouldn’t have been an end of year party, but a birthday party. Only one of those arrested, not a football player, was not released. However, official reports have also been drawn up against the others.
At the World Cup in Qatar, Iranian internationals refused to sing the national anthem during their opening match, but they did so in subsequent matches after threats from Iranian security personnel. Former Iranian international Reza Ghoochannejhad, who once played for STVV and Standard, testified on Dutch TV that internationals had been threatened.
