Iran made more than just football headlines during the World Cup in Qatar.
But it is not always easy to keep up with what, how and why?
Here we list five points that explain what happened.
Iranian players keep silent while the national anthem is played
During the fall, there were major protests in Iran. The reason is that 22-year-old Mahsa Gina Amini died in mid-September, after the country’s morality police arrested her for not wearing a headscarf properly.
At Iran’s World Cup premiere, Iranian players stood in silence as the national anthem echoed through the loudspeakers. The silence was seen as support for the protests against the regime back home.
The players called off the protest
In the second group match against Wales, however, the players ended their protest. Television footage showed them singing along with the national anthem again.
Details: Threaten to sing
CNN has obtained information that players of the Iranian national team have been threatened with, among other things, singing the national anthem before matches.
According to a source in the television company, all the players were summoned to a meeting by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and there, according to the source, the players were threatened. “Their families will be subjected to violence and torture if they do not sing along with the national anthem or if they protest against the regime in Tehran.”
Football player arrested in Iran
At the same time that the World Cup is taking place and the Iranian national team is showing its support for the protesters in Iran, soccer player Fawria Ghafouri, 35, has been arrested.
It is said that, according to the regime, he “insulted and weakened the reputation of the national team,” and therefore he was arrested after a training session with his team, Foolad Khuzestan, according to Agence France-Presse.
Furiya Ghafouri has 28 caps on his record, but he was not selected for the ongoing World Cup in Qatar.
The United States replaces the flag of Iran
The United States and Iran are in the same World Cup group and meet tonight (November 29).
But already before the international match, she was making headlines and reactions. The US national team chose to use only the green, red and white Iranian flag on social media.
In the official flag, which the United States replaced in its positions, an Islamic slogan and text that was introduced after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and is associated with the regime.