Iran has again barred women the right to enter the stadium for football for an international match with thousands of ticketed fans in limbo, Iranian media said.
It was a World Cup qualifier against Lebanon on Tuesday night, which was won with a score of 2-0 for Iran and performed at Imam Reza stadium in the northwestern city of Mashhad.
“About 2,000 Iranian women, who had bought tickets for the Iran-Lebanon match, were present in the perimeter of Imam Reza stadium but could not enter the stadium,” ISNA news agency reported.
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“For this match, 12,500 tickets were sold, of which 2,000 were for women,” it said.
Mohsen Davari, the governor of Mashhad Davari, the governor of Mashhad IRIB, the state broadcaster: “I apologise that many fans were unable to access the arena…
“Unfortunately, a large number of people outside the stadium were deprived of watching the game.”
In the wake of the controversy, In the face of controversy president, Ebrahim Raisi has directed his interior ministry to look into the incident on Wednesday.
On January 1, women in the country were permitted to participate in an international game on the first occasion in nearly three years. It was the World Cup qualifier against Iraq.
It is believed that the Islamic republic has generally prohibited female football fans from other sports venues since its establishment in 1979.
Clerics who play a significant part in making decisions believe that women should be protected from the male-dominated atmosphere and the sight of semi-clad males.
The governing body of world football FIFA has ordered Iran in September of 2019 to let women enter stadiums with no restrictions and with numbers that the demand for tickets will determine.
This FIFA directive threatened the suspension of Iran from sporting events following the death of one of the fans, Sahar Khodayari, who died by setting herself ablaze in the hope of getting a jail sentence when she attempted to attend an event in disguise.
The woman was reported to have been arrested in 2018 when she attempted to walk into a stadium as a man.
Her death led to an outcry that led to demands for Iran to be disqualified and matches to be being boycotted.
FIFA has been insisting for years on Iran to allow women to play in its stadiums; however, until the year 2019, Tehran permitted a few women to go to games on only a few occasions.
