Watch: Iran players choose not to sing national anthem in FIFA World Cup match against England | Football News

NEW DELHI: To show their solidarity towards the protesters back home, Iranian players chose not to sing their country’s national anthem first World Cup match with England in Monday.
All 11 players on the field fell silent as the national anthem played at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha. Some of the Iranian fans present at the stadium also booed their own national anthem.

Iranian state television, during the live broadcast, censored the scene of the players queuing before the match as the national anthem played.
It’s been more than two months of nationwide protests, which erupted after the death of a young woman Mahsa Amini after she was arrested for violating the strict Muslim dress code.
Security forces violently cracked down on the protests, killing at least 419 people, according to human rights activists in the country. Irana group that watched the protests.
Iranian defender Ehsan Hajsafi expressed his concerns at a news conference on Sunday about the political crisis and said he hoped his group could be the voice of the people.