The Islamic Republic’s soccer authorities may sanction a member of Tehran’s Esteghlal Football Club after he allegedly embraced a female spectator before a Thursday match against Chadormalou Ardakan S.C. in Yazd.
“The ethics committee of the Football Federation of Iran has summoned Ramin Rezaeian,” the state-controlled Tasnim news agency reported on Friday.
Although further information was not provided by the athletic regulators, Rezaeian likely violated regime laws that prohibit men from having physical contact with women who are not family members.
On April 12, Esteghlal goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini was detained by security staff during a contest against Aluminium Arak for a similar interaction with a fan at Arak Stadium. The 32-year-old Iranian national team member was handed a one-game suspension and fined three billion rials for actions deemed “unprofessional and outside a player’s legal duties.”
Women in the theocracy were first permitted to attend public soccer events between 2019 and 2022 after pressure from FIFA, the sport’s global governing body. However, they are still required to wear headscarves, enter through designated gates, and sit in gender-segregated sections.
