Iran offer powerful show of defiance on day of jeers, tears and joy

25-Nov-2022 17:11:39 | The Guardian

The fans made their feelings known before the players did the country proud with a 2-0 World Cup victory over Wales

You cannot confiscate a voice. Iran’s was heard powerfully on an emotional afternoon on the outskirts of Doha that ended with tears in the stands, tears on the pitch and Wales supporters applauding those responsible for likely ending a World Cup journey 64 years in the making.

There were tears at the start too, and it was initially impossible to concentrate on a must-win game for both teams after seeing Iranian women and men left distraught by their national anthem. Before Monday’s game against England the Iran players had stayed silent during the anthem, delivering a potent protest with potentially far greater consequences than a possible yellow card for an armband. Here some stayed silent again, a few sang and the majority mumbled their way through; a choir of the damned if they do, damned if they don’t.