Community | June 23, 2009 | 23 comments

Iran "retires" football players who protested election results

source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/23/iran-football-protest-ban

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WakeUpPeople
Their gesture attracted worldwide comment and drew the attention of football fans to Iran's political turmoil. Now the country's authorities have taken revenge by imposing life bans on players who sported green wristbands in a recent World Cup match in protest against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election.

According to the pro-government newspaper Iran, four players – Ali Karimi, 31, Mehdi Mahdavikia, 32, Hosein Ka'abi, 24 and Vahid Hashemian, 32 – have been "retired" from the sport after their gesture in last Wednesday's match against South Korea in Seoul.

They were among six players who took to the field wearing wristbands in the colour of the defeated opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, which has been adopted by demonstrators who believe the 12 June election was stolen.

Most of the players obeyed instructions to remove the armwear at half-time, but Mahdavikia wore his green captain's armband for the entire match. The four are also said to have been banned from giving media interviews.
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23 comments // Iran "retires" football players who protested election results

  • mgerlach22
  • WakeUpPeople
    • 0
      WakeUpPeople  
    • mgerlach22:

      Again, I will try to help deprogram you from the misinformation machine by using an ACTUAL quote. I repeat the following is real, and does not come in the form of interpretation commentary from FOX News or Rush Limbaugh.

      Obama said:
      "If countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us."

      I challenge you to find a quote from Obama that expressly offers friendship to Iran without precondition.

    • 2 years ago
  • mgerlach22
  • JCunliffe
  • jh64487
    • 0
      jh64487  

    • and thus confirming that they are in fact a theocratic regime and not a democratic nation.

      oh well. i look forward to the future envisioned by Iranian youth.

    • 2 years ago
  • Robroy1
    • 0
      Robroy1  

    • What goes around comes around, you can only people with total indignity and respect but sooner or later these people will win it may take years or days or months but everything comes back to bite you.

    • 2 years ago
  • Argan
    • 0
      Argan  

    • Look, I don't care if the government argues that the votes are valid, but the moment you force someone to give up what they love because they expressed their opinion in a non violent way is when you lose any credibility in my eyes.

    • 2 years ago
  • JCunliffe
    • 0
      JCunliffe  

    • contact john smith at incarnate word university...he may be able to help you with your goal of attending university in the U.S. He's an englishman who's been coaching in the states for a while now. Just use google.

    • 2 years ago
  • hoppitt
    • 0
      hoppitt  

    • Can I come play for Galaxy ?

      Snap out of it. People are reading you on current. Seriously though I have often thought of trying to gain citizenship in a small country because chances are I may be able to get in the international team. That way when I choose "International footballer" as my past experience on FM2009 I'm not messing around.

      But as far as this story goes, some things are bigger than football and I think that even if this goes a tiny way to making more people happy (with a re-election etc.) then the players will take it on the chin and realize this. If its what they believed in then they wont be feeling disappointed.

    • 2 years ago
  • JCunliffe
    • 0
      JCunliffe  
    • hoppitt:

      if you're really serious about playing international football you can check out Guam...as long as you're a U.S. citizen and have a year residency (i believe) you can play. then you wouldn't be lying. Contact me if you're any good. =)

      regarding the dumb ass shit the Iranian government is doing, it will only backfire on them in the long run. I feel for those players but I'm glad they had the balls to make a statement. Good on 'em.

    • 2 years ago
  • hoppitt
    • 0
      hoppitt  
    • hoppitt:

      I believe I am but unfortunately I'm from the UK and have been trying to get a soccer scholarship in the US but haven't really got enough money for this year. I did at some point consider writing to Current and ask for a job so I could go to a nearby college and get a degree in journalism and also give myself one final shot at the football career!

      A lovely story but I'm now out of ideas ....

    • 2 years ago
  • JCunliffe
  • cabinettags
  • bopgun27
  • SHAWN_RITTIMAN
  • banditalamode
  • neocongo
  • jessilee23
  • LemonHarangue
  • twitterbot
  • Apocalipstick
  • nkeg87
  • twitterbot
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