It was only the second official day of the World Cup games and, in the stands of the Khalifa International Stadium, in Doha, where the match between England and Iran would take place, a huge flag read: “Women Life Freedom”. Women Life Liberty. It was the motto of the protests that have taken over Iran in recent months.
The scene could not be seen on TV – the official FIFA broadcast did not show it. The images recorded by the photographers, however, did not let history be ignored. The subject had worldwide repercussions, as did the attitude of the Iranian players in not singing the anthem at the opening of the game – FIFA could not censor this scene.
The entity did everything to silence the protests and political demonstrations in this Cup. He banned banners, posted security guards to collect flags and T-shirts. But with that, it only echoed the protests. The Cup is not just made of football. It’s made of politics too.
Even the choice of host for the World Cup and sometimes holding it in countries governed by dictatorial governments is also political. Fifa has a political relationship with these governments, and its effort to ban demonstrations that go beyond football also has to do with this.
And what to do when even players decide to take sides? When the federations of seven countries, including England and Germany, prepare a position that would be impossible to ignore (the captains would play with the banner bearing the message “One Love” with the colors of the rainbow, symbolizing LGBTQIA+ Pride), how stop them? Threatening a sporting punishment that is not even explicit in the regulations.
These federations lacked the courage and will to really embrace the cause, but the demonstration did not fail to happen. Because the former English national team player Alex Scott, now a commentator for the BBC’s World Cup broadcasts, tried to use the banner on national television on her own lawn while she presented the game on TV. Her image went around the world.
Iranian women disguised their protests at the entrance to the stadium by hiding their shirts with political messages under the selection’s uniform so as not to be barred. Still, they were pursued by security guards.
The Cup is political, and its consequences can be too. In Iran, protests have been going on for at least three months, since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, arrested for improperly wearing the Islamic headscarf (she left some of her hair showing and, three days after arrest, turned up dead ).
On Sunday (4), there was an announcement by the attorney general of Iran warning that the country would close the activities of the so-called Morality Police, which oversees mainly women in compliance with the religious provisions of the local Constitution. There is still no official confirmation from the Iranian government, but, apparently, the strength of the demonstrations there and their repercussions around the world during the World Cup helped to pressure the country for changes.
The Cup is political. FIFA doesn’t want it to be, but it is. And the strongest images of that World Cup for me so far are not those that happened on the field. The scenes of Iranian women present in stadiums —something they are prohibited from doing in the country itself— and giving their message through banners and shirts, even though they have tried everything to stop them, are the most powerful of the first Cup held in an Arab country. Women Life Liberty.
Their voice echoed around the world for basic rights that no one should have to fight for. Their presence there is political. Our presence in the broadcasts and coverage of this World Cup as well. Fifa can try, but it won’t be able to shut this up.
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